Rapid detection of Salmonella in foods using real-time PCR.

Conventional methods for detection of Salmonella serovars in foods are generally time-consuming and labor intensive. A real-time PCR method has been developed with custom designed primers and a TaqMan probe to detect the presence of a 262-bp fragment of the Salmonella-specific invA gene. The method has been tested with a total of 384 field-isolated Salmonella serovars and non-Salmonella stock strains, as well as 420 U.