The use of antibiotics in the dairy industry
27 February 2020
The use of antibiotics in the dairy industry
The use of antibiotics in the dairy industry
In this month’s Randox Food Diagnostics blog, we look at the dairy industry and their use of antibiotics.
Antibiotics are used in the dairy industry routinely for pure preventative purposes. Due to poor conditions and hygiene, it is common that cattle will become infected which results in loss of milk yield and beef. Antibiotics are used to alleviate and prevent further suffering from potential zoonotic diseases.
Antibiotics are administered to cattle through a blanket use practice, within a herd to ensure all are treated. Once administered to the animal they must be given a ‘dry’ period when the dairy cattle are allowed to rest between lactations. This lasts roughly around 60 days in which a herd cannot be milked to ensure the antibiotics are out of the cattle’s milk. This however is at a cost to the farmer and cattle cannot be rushed back into milking too soon after administration.
To support the global dairy industry, and to help dairy processors monitor their use of antibiotics, Randox Food have developed the most comprehensive testing methods for milk.
The InfiniPlex for Milk Array is the world’s first screening technology that allows users to test for 130+ contaminants in milk in under 22 minutes. In addition to testing for antibiotics, InfiniPlex can detect anti-parasitic, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic drug residues from a single sample using patented Biochip Array Technology.
Available on both the Evidence Investigator, a semi-automated system, capable of analysing up to 48 samples in under 2 hours and the Evidence MultiSTAT, a fully automated system that delivers results from a single neat sample of milk in under 22 minutes.
If you are a centralised laboratory, internal surveillance programme, low throughput laboratory or a dairy processor we have the perfect solution for your testing needs.
For more information on the antibiotic screening arrays available, contact info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com to find out how Randox Food can simplify your screening practices today.
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Food Diagnostics website.
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We Are Randox | Sean Mills named Randox Employee of the Year at 2020 Manufacturing Awards Dinner
Randox Freeze Drying Production Supervisor Sean Mills has been named Randox Employee of the Year.
Sean’s award was announced on Friday 7th February 2020, when all Randox manufacturing departments gathered together at The Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick, to connect with colleagues and celebrate the success of their teams at the annual Randox Manufacturing Awards Dinner.
Pauline Bradley, Operations Manager began the evening with an opening address, and thanked all attendees for their hard work;
“Each year our manufacturing department grows in strength and this is thanks to the people working in it. I am proud to be standing here to recognise our collective capabilities as a team and to celebrate our hard work – with good food and great company.”
An overview of the year’s manufacturing successes were shared, and everyone looked forward to the activities for the year ahead.
A selection of awards that were announced on the night are included below;
- Newcomer of the Year was awarded to Katarzyna Bronisz by Manager Debbie Moses
- Adherence to company procedure was awarded to Kyle Westwater by Manager Eamon Morris
- Excellence under pressure was awarded to AJ Gorman by Manager Pauline Bradley
Following the presentation of these awards, all attention turned to Operations Manager Pauline Bradley to announce the prestigious Employee of the Year Award.
We are delighted to be able to share that this award went to Sean Mills of our Freeze Drying Production Department.
Sean commented;
“I’m really proud to be able to say that I am Randox Employee of the Year. I work in such a talented and hard-working team at Randox, so I know there must have been fierce competition. It was a real pleasure to be able to receive this award surrounded by my colleagues and friends as we enjoyed a lovely evening together and I would like to thank everybody who has congratulated me over the past number of days. All the work we do at Randox is truly a team effort and so my award is as much for my team members within the Freeze Drying Department as it is for me. I wouldn’t be able to do my job without them.”
Sean’s Manager Eamon Morris closed the night by congratulating Sean, and saying;
“I am delighted that Sean’s efforts and excellence were recognised on the night of the Manufacturing Awards. I know of nobody who has a dissenting word about him and I think that speaks volumes about the way he conducts himself at work – very professional and always with a smile. He absolutely epitomises someone who ‘goes the extra mile’ and over the years has proved to be a real asset to the Production team. He has a fantastic work ethic and strives daily to learn and improve.”
For more information about the Manufacturing Awards please contact Randox PR by email: randoxpr@randox.com or phone 028 9442 2413
Why is testing for Tartaric Acid important in winemaking?
31 January 2020
Tartaric Acid testing in winemaking
Why is testing for Tartaric Acid important in winemaking?
Tartaric Acid is a unique acid that is not commonly found in fruit, however it is a primary acid component in grapes. It is one key acid that is monitored during the fermentation process as it plays a vital role in the stability of the wine and its pH levels.
Tartaric acid combines with Potassium to create Potassium Titrate which then precipitate and causes the acidity to drop and the pH levels to rise. It is found in significant concentrations in grapes, but this can vary based on factors including the variety of grape and the vineyard soil content.
Tartaric acid plays a key role in the stability of wines and influences the taste, colour and odour of the final product. A high tartaric content in a final bottled wine is indicative of the wine being unstable, due to this, it is important for winemakers to monitor the levels of this acid present in wine.
Generally, it has been recognised that between 0.5-10 g/l is the average acceptable level and the Randox Food Diagnostics kit for measuring tartaric acid allows winemakers to measure between to this range.
Randox Food Diagnostics offer multiple tests for wine analysis including Tartaric Acid on both the RX misano and the RX monaco.
| Method | No. of Tests | Catalogue No. | Sensitivity | Linearity |
| Manual | 50 | TK4060 | N/A | N/A |
| RX misano | 100 | TK4060 | 0.51 g/l | 10.00 g/l |
| RX Monaco | N/A | TK4060 | On request | On request |
For more information on wine and other food testing please contact us at: info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Food Diagnostics website.
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We Are Randox | Staff Newsletter July-December 2019 Edition
Staff Newsletter January - March 2019 Edition
We are delighted to be able to share with you the Q3/4 2019 edition of our We Are Randox staff newsletter!
Click here for a range of company and staff news from July to December 2019 – including events, business updates, a range of staff news including weddings and engagements, and of course our annual Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas Raffle – at which we raised a fantastic £3396.
** Please note that this newsletter works most efficiently in your Google Chrome browser**
Randox in Top 10 2019 European Food and Beverage Technology Providers
20 December 2019
Randox in Top 10 Food and Beverage Technology Providers in Europe 2019
Randox in Top 10 Food and Beverage Technology Providers in Europe 2019
Randox Food Diagnostics have been selected as one of the Top 10 Food and Beverage Technology solution providers in Europe for 2019.
The news was announced in an article in the Food and Beverage Technology Review magazine, which highlighted companies at the forefront of technological developments in the food and beverage industry.
The magazine’s editorial board assessed and shortlisted some of the most prominent organisations in the industry that solve challenges by implementing the current technological trends in the space, and nominated Randox in the top 10 in an article entitled; “Randox: Bringing Diagnostics to the Food Industry.”
The article highlights the history of Randox, which was established by our Managing Director Dr Peter FitzGerald in 1982. We traditionally focused on placing our diagnostics technologies in the likes of hospitals, laboratories and veterinary clinics, however in recent years have utilised our expertise in diagnostic technology to diversify into another key area of healthcare – food safety.
Our Randox Food Diagnostics division offers the latest and most comprehensive diagnostic technologies to food producers across a range of industries including meat, seafood, dairy, honey and cereals, to ensure food safety and satisfy customer demand.
Our patented Randox Biochip Array Technology can provide screening of up to 54 food samples providing results for drug residues and toxins within 3 hours, saving both time and money for clients. The Randox Biochip facilitates simultaneous detection of multiple drug residues or pathogens including antibiotic, anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory, growth promoter, and mycotoxin diagnostics.
“With faster, simpler and more efficient testing, Randox Biochip increases efficiency within producer processes and, within the market place, increases consumer confidence, a reason why leading food producers, as well as hospitals, laboratories, toxicology centres, and health clinics, utilise Randox products,” says Dr Peter FitzGerald.
Most recently we unveiled the Randox Infiniplex; a biochip for milk testing which allows milk testing laboratories to carry out multiple tests simultaneously on a single milk sample.
“Our Infiniplex array greatly differs from other milk residue tests as it uses multiplexing technology that reduces our customers’ testing time to four hours and requires a small sample volume (25μl),” says Kerrie McAuley, VP of Marketing, Randox Food Diagnostics.
Randox Food is also working on pesticides arrays for milk and honey, and additionally a Bovine Pathogen Array to branch out into animal health and wellbeing screening in milk for viruses such as bovine diarrhoea.
To find out more about what we offer at Randox Food Diagnostics click here or email enquiries@randoxfooddiagnostics.com.
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Food Diagnostics website.
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California announces ban of Chlorpyrifos Pesticide from February 2020
26 November 2019
Chlorpyrifos Pesticide ban in California
California announces ban of Chlorpyrifos Pesticide from February 2020
A recent Forbes article has stated that; “California plans to ban all sales of chlorpyrifos after Feb. 6, 2020, according to an agreement between the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and manufacturers. Growers must use their chlorpyrifos supplies by the end of Dec. 31, 2020, and will not be allowed to own the pesticide after this date.
The DPR cited concerns about chlorpyrifos affecting the health of children, such as causing “impaired brain and neurological development.”
Chlorpyrifos is an agricultural pesticide with a variety of uses, including the ability to kill insects that harm crops. Introduced by the Dow Chemical Company in 1965, chlorpyrifos can eliminate insects by interfering with an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase in their bodies, which breaks up the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
When an insect’s body cannot produce the enzyme, the levels of acetylcholine build up and overstimulate the nervous system until the insect dies. People also have acetylcholinesterase and acetylcholine in their bodies, so there have been ongoing concerns about the pesticide’s impact on human health.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) explained, “In people, short-term oral exposure (one day) to low (milligrams) levels of chlorpyrifos can cause dizziness, fatigue, runny nose or eyes, salivation, nausea, intestinal discomfort, sweating and changes in heart rate. Short-term oral exposure to much higher (grams) levels of chlorpyrifos may cause paralysis, seizures, loss of consciousness and death.”
In order to help the industry Randox Food Diagnostics have developed Biochip Array Technology. Biochip allows for the detection of multiple pesticides including Chlorpyrifos, from a single honey or milk sample. The platform enables the user to run up to 54 samples on the Evidence Investigator analyser with a short sample preparation, allowing the user to consolidate costs and time.
For further information please contact the Randox Food Diagnostics team by emailing info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com.
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Food Diagnostics website.
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Randox IT wins IT Project Team of the Year at Belfast Telegraph IT Awards
Congratulations to the Randox IT department who have been named as the ‘IT Project Team of the Year’ at the Belfast Telegraph IT Awards 2019!
The awards ceremony, which was an inaugural event from the Belfast-based media outlet, was a showcase of the finest that the Northern Ireland IT industry has to offer, with both IT agencies and in-house IT teams vying for the chance to be crowned among the best their respective fields.
Sarah Little, Publishing Director at INM(NI), said on the night that holding the event was a ‘no brainer’ due to the prolific growth of the IT sector in Northern Ireland. In 2018 1 in 9 jobs advertised were in IT.
Prior to the awards event, Randox IT had been shortlisted for both IT Project Team of the Year for their work on RIQAS Point of Care and IT Team of the Year for their work on the Randox Health client portal.
The in-house IT team at Randox comprises of web developers, engineers, customer support staff, web designers, security professionals, software development and software testers spanning ten nationalities, from Indian to Hungarian and Italian to South African.
In the last year Randox IT have worked on a variety of exciting and important projects, including the development of an innovative health portal that assesses the accuracy and reliability of point-of-care machines. These blood testing analysers are increasingly being placed in the likes of pharmacies, GP surgeries, and A&E departments to provide NHS Health Checks and manage long-term conditions.
It was for this work on RIQAS Point of Care that on Friday 8th November, at a glittering awards event in the MAC Belfast, Randox IT were officially named IT Project Team of the Year.
The cloud-based technology developed by Randox IT provides confidence in vital test results for conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Uptake of the scheme has increased considerably since it was launched this year, proving that the system is meeting a need for a quality assurance system for non-laboratory health service staff which was not being met before.
We are delighted that Randox IT have been recognised for this pioneering work in point-of-care software and hope you join us in congratulating them on such a tremendous achievement.
To find out more about Randox IT and the vacancies we have in the team, please email recruitment@randox.com
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Careers
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We Are Randox | Randox IT is shortlisted in the Belfast Telegraph IT Awards 2019
Congratulations to the Randox IT department who have been shortlisted in two categories at the Belfast Telegraph IT Awards 2019.
This, the inaugural event from the Belfast-based media outlet, is set to be a showcase of the finest that the Northern Ireland IT industry has to offer with both IT agencies and in-house IT teams vying for the chance to be crowned among the best their respective fields.
Randox IT have been shortlisted for IT Project Team of the Year for their work on RIQAS Point of Care and IT Team of the Year for their work on the Randox Health client and staff portal.
See an overview of their applications below;
IT Project Team of the Year
Randox IT have developed an innovative health portal that assesses the accuracy and reliability of blood testing analysers. These blood testing analysers are increasingly being placed in the likes of pharmacies, GP surgeries, and A&E departments to provide NHS Health Checks and manage long term conditions.
Randox IT cloud-based technology provides confidence in vital test results for conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Uptake of the scheme has increased considerably since it was launched this year, proving that the system is meeting a need for a quality assurance system for non-laboratory health service staff which was not being met before.
IT Team of the Year
The in-house IT team at world-leading health diagnostics firm Randox comprises of web developers, engineers, customer support staff, web designers, security professionals, software development and software testers spanning ten nationalities, from Indian to Hungarian and Italian to South African.
In the last year, the Randox IT team have created a fully-automated, fully-functional platform for both healthcare professionals and clients of Randox Health, which generates results for state-of-the-art health checks.
The finals for the Belfast Telegraph IT Awards 2019 will take place on Friday 8th November 2019 in The Mac, Belfast and all finalists can be viewed here.
Good luck to the Randox IT department!
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Careers
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Randox Food Diagnostics are attending AOAC Denver 2019
30 August 2019
Randox Food Diagnostics are attending AOAC Denver 2019
Randox Food Diagnostics are exhibiting at AOAC in Denver. Various contaminants are administered to animals during the farming process to treat infection and maintain herd health. Regulations are often adhered to, as quality control procedures are put in place to ensure the safe supply of agricultural produce and this is where Biochip technology can streamline the quality control process. By offering a system that can analyse up to 48 sample simultaneously, our technology delivers higher throughput which in turn saves time and money on laboratory costs and labour.
Randox Food and Biochip Array Technology
Biochip Array technology (BAT) is designed with the aim of revolutionising the screening practices of your laboratory. Designed to work across a wide variety of matrices, BAT uses a micro-spotting technique to create an assay that can detect and provide quantitative results for up to 44 residues from a single sample.
The market leading 9mm x 9mm ceramic chip brings the capacity to detect the range of antibiotics, anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory, growth promoting and mycotoxin residues simultaneously in a range of food and feed samples.
AOAC’s annual meeting is taking place this September in Denver. The meeting organises scientific sessions, roundtable discussions, workshops and poster presentations discussing a variety of analytical methods and requirements. Attended by scientists from across the world the conference discusses science at a different level.
At AOAC Denver you will get the opportunity to speak to our experts on the Biochip Array Technology. By visiting booth #416 you will get an introduction to BAT and find out how the technology can perfectly fit any of your screening needs.
To learn more about Biochip Array Technology contact info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com or stop by Booth #416 at AOAC Denver 2019 and chat the Randox Food team!
Find out more about AOAC.
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Food Diagnostics website.
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Drugs of Abuse – A Global Pandemic
4th September 2019
Drugs of Abuse – A Global Pandemic
The prevalence of drug addiction and abuse across the globe has become a growing concern. It is currently estimated that 71 million people use drugs of abuse with around 166,000 direct deaths occurring from drug use in 2017.
The WHO (World Health Organisation) estimate that 11 million people inject drugs across the globe, of which 1.3 million are living with HIV, 5.5 million with hepatitis C, and 1 million with both HIV and hepatitis C. In addition to infectious disease, long term drug abuse increases the risk of several cancers, cardiovascular effects, respiratory effects, gastrointestinal effects, kidney & liver damage and mental health issues.
The abuse of drugs is one of the most pressing issues in the USA and other countries globally. Drug abuse not only affects the individual, but can also have far-reaching consequences that affect family, employment, personal health, health care systems, local communities, and society as a whole.
Global Drug Abuse – The buzz that keeps on going!
> Misuse of illicit drugs affects society through secondary costs incurred such as crime, reduced productivity at work, and health care expenses.
> Substance abuse costs the US health care system about $11 billion, with overall costs reaching $193 billion.
> Substance abuse and addiction also affects other areas of life leading to broken families, destroyed careers, death due to negligence or accident, domestic violence, physical abuse and child abuse.
> Drug abuse and addiction changes the chemistry of your brain. The longer an individual abuses drugs, the more damage is caused, making it more difficult to return to ‘normal’ during drug rehabilitation.
> Treating and tackling drug addiction is a challenge. As drug treatment and health services continue to fall short, there is an increased need to continuously adapt drug detection and analysis.
Randox laboratories are at the forefront, aiding the fight against drugs of abuse with a comprehensive range of 10 drugs of abuse assays including several stimulants, sedatives and opioids available to run on Randox’s very own clinical chemistry analysers, the RX series. To find out now how Randox is helping to tackle the ongoing prevalence of drugs of abuse click here or buy directly from the Randox Online Store.
About Randox Laboratories
As a world leader in the in-vitro diagnostic industry with over 35 years’ experience, Randox is leading the charge in moving from a one-size-fits-all approach towards decisions, practices and products tailored to the needs of the individual. This innovative approach to diagnostics has facilitated the development of revolutionary products designed specifically to enhance a patients’ quality of life.
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Drugs of Abuse pages to learn more.
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References