Although we strive to answer as many questions as possible here on our site, please feel free to contact us if we have not answered your specific question!
Emport, LLC handles sales and distribution for a variety of food testing and quality control test kits including GlutenTox and AlerTox within the USA and Canada.
Emport, LLC primarily ships to addresses within the United States of America, and our sales agents in Canada can be reached at glutentox.net. However, feel free to contact us with your requestl GlutenTox is distributed around the world and if we are unable to ship to your location we will happily connect you with the appropriate resource.
Sorry, no. Emport, LLC is not equipped to perform in-house analysis of samples, nor can we issue certifications about the gluten content of your items. We are, however, happy to suggest alternatives. Kindly contact us for more information.
We strive to be as helpful as possible, and are happy to share resources that can be helpful in developing a safe manufacturing plan. Many of these resources can be found in our news section or on this FAQ page. However, we are not food safety consultants. Emport LLC cannot certify your products as gluten-free or allergen-free, assist with the creation of your HACCP, HARCP, or Allergen Control Plan, or provide third party lab testing or Certificates of Analysis for your items.
GlutenTox tests are user-friendly lateral flow tests that use the G12 antibody to detect gluten contamination in foods and liquids, and on surfaces. There are GlutenTox kits for every need, from home users to commercial manufacturers.
Lateral Flow Devices (or LFDs) refer to a category of test designed to detect the presence or absence of a particular substance, without the need for sophisticated lab equipment. Through capillary action, the sample is brought along the length of the test and – if the substance in question is detected – will cause a visible signal to appear. The most commonly-seen type of LFD test on the market today is the over-the-counter pregnancy test.
All GlutenTox tests have a flexible LOD for food testing, and the sensitivity of each test can be set by the person performing the analysis. GlutenTox Home can be set to 5ppm or 20ppm; GlutenTox Pro can be set to 5, 10, 20, or 40ppm, and GlutenTox Sticks can be set to a variety of thresholds as low as 3ppm and as high as 100ppm. Surface testing is a qualitative yes/no result.
According to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the FDA and Health Canada, food can be considered “gluten-free” if it is made without gluten-containing ingredients and the amount of gluten present due to cross-contamination does not exceed 20 parts per million (ppm).
The G12 antibody was created to target the 33-mer peptide of the alpha-gliadin molecule. Studies show that this peptide is the primary cause of the auto-immune response in celiac patients. This leads to a high correlation between positive test results and samples that are toxic for people with celiac disease. If a food or beverage sample contains this toxic peptide in sufficient quantity, it will trigger a positive response from GlutenTox.
G12 is able to recognize gluten in wheat, barley, rye and certain strains of oat (for more on oat toxicity, see question below). It is also uniquely well-suited to detecting gluten in hydrolyzed, fermented, or otherwise processed foods. In addition, the G12 antibody shows no cross-reactivity with soy or any other gluten-free matrices.
Emport is pleased to share some details about the G12 antibody, specifically developed to identify the 33-mer peptide of α- gliadin. Read more in our News post on the G12 antibody.
Choosing GlutenTox: which kit is right for me?
There are several positive evaluations for the GlutenTox test kits and in-house gluten testing. These include: AOAC-RI has awarded GlutenTox Pro PTM status for testing both foods and surfaces; AESAN (The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition) has positively evaluated the GlutenTox Lateral Flow Devices as an accurate method for gluten detection in any types of food; GlutenTox Sticks have passed the FAPAS proficiency tests, an international standard based in the UK.
Yes, there are ELISA tests in both Sandwich and Competitive formats that contain the G12 antibody. Emport, LLC does not normally stock them, but if you are interested in running ELISA tests in your lab we will happily connect you with the proper contacts.
Over the years many students have enjoyed using GlutenTox to explain gluten-free foods to their classmates. If you are considering using GlutenTox as part of your project, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can offer pointers on popular experiment designs. We also have posted articles about Science Fair projects.
My kit has arrived! Now what?
Expiration dates are clearly printed on each kit, but are generally at least six months from the ship date. You will know if you are using a test that has expired because the blue control line will not appear.
All kits can be stored at 35°F – 85°F. We do not suggest storing kits in the refrigerator, as excess moisture can damage the test strips.
All components of the kit are non-toxic and therefore fully disposable in ordinary trash. They can be recycled where appropriate according to the material.
Surface testing is possible with both GlutenTox Pro and GlutenTox Sticks kits, and results will simple and qualitative: positive indicates the presence of gluten, negative indicates the absence of gluten at a level of 10ng/cm2.
Although it’s tempting to assign a ppm value for surface testing, this is technically impossible: after all, no one is eating the counter tops! Instead, surface gluten is measured in nanograms per square centimeter. The ppm value of a food that comes into contact with the surface would vary based on variables like volume (a little ball of dough or a big one?) and texture (dough vs an already-baked cookie?)
With GlutenTox, a negative surface test indicates that if a kilogram of absolutely gluten-free dough were kneaded on the surface, the dough would have
Click here for instructions, or scroll up one question. The instructions for testing surfaces for gluten begin at 2:59 on the video.
- Antioxidants, polyphenols, and tannins: Gluten found in matrices that are high in antioxidants, polyphenols, or tannins (for example cocoa or tea) can be difficult to extract. For this reason, it is possible that the amount of gluten present in these samples can be underestimated. If using GlutenTox Sticks, a separate polyphenol additive is available that can appropriately extract gluten from these matrices. Please note a positive result will always indicate the presence of gluten in the sample.
- Maggi – Seasoning – Arôme (liquid sauce): This seasoning sauce contains gluten as described by the manufacturer in its ingredients list. Note that its manufacturing process and other active ingredients are not suitable for GlutenTox Home. Consider this food as containing gluten.
- Soy Sauce: Naturally brewed soy sauce undergoes a fermentation process that often breaks down gluten to level close or below the detectable limit.
- Highly processed and complex matrices: Although GlutenTox Home and Pro tests have been successfully tested against a wide variety of highly-processed matrices, there may be some cases in which a more thorough extraction process is required to identify traces of gluten (for example, the multi-step extraction options available via GlutenTox Sticks). If you are planning to test a vitamin, supplement, medication, or other products that you feel may be highly processed, please contact us with more information about the specific item — we may recommend various modifications. In all cases, a positive test result always indicates the presence of gluten: to date no false positives have been found with G12.
- Items that are very high in silica: Large amounts silica can cause the extraction solution to “gel” in a way that can create challenges for the sample preparation process. These items often require special analysis in a laboratory setting. If you would like to test these items with GlutenTox, we suggest using half the amount of sample and double the number of drops as recommended in the manual.
- GlutenTox has been validated against some but not all personal care products. Because of the wide range of formulations and ingredients within personal care products, we recommend additional caution when testing shampoos, lotions, cosmetics, and other non-food items. While a positive result does always indicate the presence of gluten, false negatives are possible.
The short answer is that while you can certainly trust that any positive test results with GlutenTox are indeed positive for gluten, the possibility for false negatives is also real. All lateral flow kits for gluten face the same challenge when it comes to heavy hydrolyzation, malting, or fermenting – there is a small gray area where it’s possible for beers (or soy sauce, etc) to have their proteins broken-apart enough that they don’t register on tests, but still intact enough to possibly trigger a celiac response.
Below you’ll find some information relating to gluten detection in beers, including so-called ‘gluten-removed’ beers that use enzymes to degrade the malted barley.
- When it comes to testing for gluten in beer, antibody-based testing is currently the gold standard. An antibody is developed that looks for specific, short chains of amino acids that are unique to gluten (ie, not cross-reactive or found in other, safe foods). These short chains are called epitopes.
- Lateral flow / rapid kits require two copies of the chain – two epitopes – to “catch” the gluten molecule. For the G12 antibody, the epitope is found three times on the 33-mer peptide, which is known to be highly immunotoxic. So as long as the peptide is 2/3 intact, it should be identifiable.
- The most common type of lab test, a Sandwich ELISA, also requires two epitopes in order to identify gluten. There is a type of ELISA called a Direct or Competitive ELISA that only requires one epitope, but very few labs are trained to do these. They’re quite delicate and have not been validated as thoroughly as Sandwich ELISAs.
- There are situations where a beer could have small fragments of gluten in it that are too small for rapid tests to pick up (but that a Competitive ELISA could quantify). It’s generally accepted that these beers would not be celiac-safe.
- There are also situations where a beer could have small fragments of gluten that are too small for even a Competitive ELISA to pick up – and there is no consensus within the communities about whether or not these beers would be celiac-safe.
Troubleshooting
The test results should be read at 10 minutes (not before and not after). Any faint lines that appear after this time limit are not valid and do not indicate the presence of gluten in the sample. Conversely, positive results may fade in intensity after 10 minutes. If the test shows a pink line and a blue line at 10 minutes, it’s positive. If the test shows only a blue line at 10 minutes, it’s negative.
There aren’t any easy one-size-fits-all solutions to effectively control hazard points in the manufacturing process. Minimizing hazard points and identifying best practices takes experience and expertise. Emport does have some Best Practices Guides that you might find helpful. You can download Best Practices Guides for when to test effectively and how to sample your materials.
You can also reference Emport’s article Best Practices for Gluten-Free Manufacturers, which provides a fuller explanation of some of the key concepts in creating a hazard plan.
If your results are unexpected, please email us with more information about your test. We’ll work with you until your questions are resolved.
AlerTox Sticks kits are designed to help food manufacturers monitor levels of common allergenic proteins at every step of production and in a variety of matrices.
- Almond
- Crustacean
- Egg
- Fish
- Hazelnut
- Milk
- Mustard
- Peanut
- Sesame
- Soy
- Walnut
Interested in learning more about allergens and controlling in a manufacturing setting? Please refer to the articles on AlerTox in our collection.
Yes, there are ELISA tests available on special order for all AlerTox Sticks allergens and many others including sesame, walnut, and coconut. Contact us for details.
Although we cannot offer help for developing your specific plan, we’ve collected some links we feel may be of interest. The FDA provides guidance documents that cover basic questions about compliance to FDA legislation. You can also check our blog for some practical applications for allergen control.
Within the United States, FALCPA regulations cover the production and labeling of foods containing any of the eight currently listed major food allergens: soy, peanut, tree nut, wheat, egg, milk, crustacean/shellfish, and fish. Requirements in Canada can be found on Health Canada’s Food Allergen Labeling page. FARE, or Food Allergy Research and Education, also has detailed guidance documents for manufacturers of allergen-free foods.
Usually no, but some kits do require cotton swabs or cotton balls for surface testing.
Test results are available in less than 12 minutes.
Each AlerTox Sticks test kit has a slightly different LOD, but most can detect a minimum amount of allergen ranging from 1-10 ppm.
AlerTox Sticks kits do not hold any external validation. However, no regulating body has established validations for any testing procedure for the allergens addressed by the suite of AlerTox Sticks kits. Please contact us if you are interested in receiving the validation reports.
The kits are designed to detect traces of allergen, and therefore samples that are very high in allergenic proteins (eg more than 5,000-10,000 ppm) may incur a false negative in the form of a hook effect. Matrices that contain a very high amount of the allergen can override the test. If you suspect this to be the case, an option is to dilute the sample (1 part sample to 3 parts water, for example) and re-test. You can always contact us with questions.
Lateral flow kits like AlerTox can have trouble with foods that have been fermented, hydrolyzed, malted, cured or otherwise very highly processed to the point where their proteins start to break down. The antibody in the test kit is looking for a very small sequence of amino acids, and it needs to have this sequence repeated at least 2x/molecule to catch and count the molecule in its search for the PPM value.
As food processing breaks the proteins apart, there is a phase where they could be too small to get “caught” by the test but still big enough to cause damage to someone with an allergy.
It is impossible to manufacture a single kit that can recognize all species of fish, or all manufacturing conditions (boiled, in oil, in vinegar, dried etc). Although AlerTox Sticks Fish can recognize between 30-50 types of bony fish, some show a reduced response in certain manufacturing processes. Canned tuna and surimi, or crab stick, are particularly difficult to detect. Please contact us with information about the matrices you are testing. We’ll be able to help determine whether or not the kit will fit your needs.
Yes, rinse water can be tested following the general instructions for testing liquids.
Yes, the directions for testing surfaces is included in the manuals.
The AlerTox Sticks Crustacean test is applicable for qualitative detection of target antigens in the samples of complex foods and surface swabs. The sensitivity of the test may decrease in case of heat-processed food or fat-rich samples (e.g. in presence of oil or cream). Some fish processing technologies, eg preparation of surimi, selectively deplete the antigen (tropomyosin), sometimes resulting in weak positive or even false negatives.
The AlerTox Sticks Egg kit recognizes Ovalbumin, which is a glycoprotein that comprises 54% of the total proteins of egg white. AlerTox Sticks Egg will not detect the allergen presence in samples that have been exposed to high heat for an extended period. (higher than 212°F for more than 30 minutes.)
It is impossible to manufacture a single kit that can recognize all species of fish, or all manufacturing conditions (boiled, in oil, in vinegar, dried etc). Although AlerTox Sticks Fish can recognize between 30-50 types of bony fish, some show a reduced response in certain manufacturing processes. Canned tuna and surimi, or crab stick, are particularly difficult to detect. Please contact us with information about the matrices you are testing. We’ll be able to help determine whether or not the kit will fit your needs.
AlerTox Sticks Mustard tests can detect mustard content of 1ppm, measured as ground raw unprocessed mustard seed. The test kit will detect the presence of all related plants, but will not detect the presence of mustard greens.
AlerTox Sticks Almond, Hazelnut, Walnut and Peanut
The sensitivity of all of the nut detection tests decrease in an environment rich in fats (for example, in the presence of oil or creams).
- AlerTox Sticks Almond shows a considerable cross-reactivity in pit extracts of the fruits of Prunus and related genuses: peach, plum and apricot. If these pits are crushed during industrial processing of fruit masses (for example, in the production of jam), the resulting material may show false positivity with AlerTox Sticks Almond.
- AlerTox Sticks Hazelnut does not detect hydrolyzed, low molecular weight fragments of the target protein and therefore it could show a false negative result with fermented hazelnut milk. The sensitivity of the test decreases in an environment rich in fats (for example, in the presence of oil or creams).
- AlerTox Sticks Peanut is not recommended for use with samples containing Brazil nut, buckwheat, or walnut. These ingredients can trigger a false positive. Additionally, samples containing more than 2% of the following ingredients require the use of skim milk powder and additional waiting time to ensure against false positives: cocoa, barley, rye, oat, lima bean, pumpkin seed, sesame, almond, coconut, hazelnut, macadamia, pistachio, pecan, pine nut, paprika, and lemon juice
AlerTox Sticks Sesame The sensitivity of the AlerTox Sticks Sesame test decreases in an environment rich in fats (for example, in the presence of oil or creams). The kit should not be used to detect sesame oil.
AlerTox Sticks Soy senses the presence of trypsin inhibitor from soybeans (STI) with a sensitivity of 100 ng / g (0.1 ppm). This inhibitor is denatured only in presence of high temperatures. There is no process to remove 100% of STI, although UHT processes significantly reduce the amounts of STI, making it undetectable to the kit. The kit should not be used to detect soy lecithin or soy oil.
New to the North American market, the innovative FlowThrough™ tests can identify both accidental and intentional meat contamination. These easy tests allow handlers of raw meat to save time, save money, and save face in the event of a contamination issue. Tests are available for detecting traces of raw beef, horse, sheep, chicken and pork in foods and on surfaces.
Rapid Meat Speciation for food samples
The rapid Raw Meat FlowThrough™ speciation test is an innovative product designed for use by raw meat processors as well as by smaller food analysis laboratories. Their use transforms the capability for onsite control at meat processing operations. Raw Meat FlowThrough™ tests are available in packs of 5 tests.
The tests are simple to perform and provide fast and cost-effective test results for a wide range of large and small meat processors. Key benefits:
- Reliably detect 1% levels of raw meat adulteration
- For use with raw meats, blood drip and raw meat products
- Validated using LGC Raw Meat Certificated Reference Materials (CRMs)
- Results in under 15 minutes
- Easy to use, no special training required
- Includes all materials for conducting five tests
General test procedures
The FlowThrough™ tests are rapid, accurate and easy to use. Everything you need to conduct five tests are included in the kit. Contact us if you would like additional documentation on how the tests are conducted. The procedure for the tests are different for foods and surfaces.
The Raw Meat FlowThrough™ Test six part procedure typically takes 12 minutes to perform. Species-specific proteins are extracted from a homogenous sample that is then diluted and added to the test unit so that the proteins bind to a Test spot (T) on the left hand side of the test area. Binding of these proteins is indicated after the addition of a Color Reagent, which forms a pink spot at ‘T’. A pink Control (C) spot will also appear on the right hand side of the test area to indicate the test has worked properly.
Shipping and Storage of Raw Meat FlowThrough™ kits
The Raw Meat FlowThrough™ tests require special handling and storage. Check the control spot before using to make sure that the kit did not degrade because of a shipping issue
- Shipping flat-rate applies only to the continental US. Located in Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico? Contacts us to arrange shipping.
- Raw Meat FlowThrough kits will ship via UPS
- Kits will be shipped in cold pack
- Kits should be stored at 2°C/36°F to 8°C/46°F
FlowThrough™ for testing foods
- I got an unexpected result or I would like to verify my result
The sample extract can be retained (store refrigerated at 2°C/36°F to 8°C/46°F for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months) for testing by ELISA if required. If necessary, spin the white disc by pressing one edge and remove it so that more liquid extract can be accessed. Contact us to set up ELISA lab testing. - Viscous extracts may take longer to absorb; if not absorbed after 10 minutes, blot remaining liquid with a clean cotton bud or tissue before cleaning the test area.
Rapid Meat Speciation for surface swabbing
Raw Cow FlowThrough™ Swab offers meat processors a new possibility to improve the effectiveness of their cleaning routines. With this simple test, you can address the current key demands for ease of sampling, high sensitivity with speed and ease of use to verify that meat species controls are working.
- Reliable, sensitive detection
- For use on work and storage surfaces
- Results in under 8 minutes
- No ‘overload’ should high levels of contamination be detected.
- Easy to use, no special training required
- Includes all materials for conducting five tests
Selectivity of the FlowThrough™ Swab tests for surfaces
The purified antibodies used in this kit are highly specific for the specific species albumin protein; other species (see the meats, animal sera and related foods in the table below), if they react at all, do so at levels well below the lowest detectable response level:
Contact us for a full validation report. For each test there are also reactions, to a greater or lesser degree, with closely-related species as follows:
General test procedures
The FlowThrough™ tests are rapid, accurate and easy to use. Everything you need to conduct five tests are included in the kit. Contact us if you would like additional documentation on how the tests are conducted. The procedure for the tests are different for foods and surfaces.
The FlowThrough™ Swab Test for surfaces is equally simple. The test is a validation step in your cleaning process. Swab the selected area with consistent pressure. Snap the bulb on the sawb device and firmly squeeze to release the color reagent through the swab tip into the tube. Squeeze the bulb to empty the
liquid onto the test area through the swab tip.
Shipping and Storage of Raw Meat FlowThrough™ kits for foods and surfaces
The Raw Meat FlowThrough™ Swabs for surface tests require special handling and storage. Check the control spot before using to make sure that the kit did not degrade because of a shipping issue
- Shipping flat-rate applies only to the continental US. Located in Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico? Contacts us to arrange shipping.
- Raw Meat FlowThrough kits will ship via UPS ?
- Kits will be shipped in cold pack
- Kits should be stored at 2°C/36°F to 8°C/46°F
FlowThrough™ Swabs for surfaces
- Swabbing the surface
The test is designed to verify the cleaning step in your process and should only be used on visibly clean surfaces.Although the tests are highly sensitive the detection capability is dependent upon the quality of the swabbing technique. Amongst other factors, it depends on the surface material and effectiveness of swabbing.
- Cleaning verification
Working strength levels of detergents or disinfectants do not affect the performance of the tests. - Test and Control spot intensity
The appearance of a clearly visible Test spot no matter what the intensity should be recorded as Detected. The Control spot should always be clearly visible for the test to be valid. The Test spot (if it appears) is normally of less intensity than the Control spot. Any Test spot is indicative of an unclean surface.
OleoTest is an easy way to monitor the quality level and lifespan of oil used in deep-fat frying.
Please visit our page How to Use OleoTest for detailed instructions, or view the video below:
OleoTest ships with a minimum 3 months to expiration, but often with a much greater timeline. Feel free to inquire about the expiry dates when you place your order.
Store unused tests at room temperature 41ºF (5 ºC) < T < 68ºF (20 ºC), and keep away from light.
At the end of the reaction, the mixture solidifies and the completed test can be stored for reference for several months, providing an easy reference for documenting adherence to your food quality control plan. In the event of separation, simply reheat and reshake the oil to bring the results back. The original package can be used to archive completed tests, and should be stored away from light and heat.
Oleotest is validated to use with seeds oils (sunflower, corn, peanut, etc.) and coconut oil. A different color scale must be used to measure polar compounds in palm oil. Oleotest can not be used with olive oil as its color interferes with the color of the test.
- corn oil
- peanut oil
- soy oil
- sunflower oil
- palm oil
- canola oil
- vegetable oil (as a mixture of different food oils from the ones detailed above)
Oils used to fry heavily pigmented foods (such as red peppers), and oils that already have a deep color (like olive oil) may require a different color chart/scale. Please contact us with questions about adjusting the scale for these other oils. OleoTest is not suitable for testing animal fats.
OleoTest measures the percentage of total polar compounds (TPM) present in cooking oil.
Cooking oil is a naturally non-polar compound. The presence of polar compounds can be attributed to exposure to air, moisture and heat. These undesirable compounds indicate that oil is degrading; high levels negatively affect the health and taste of the fried item.
Whether large or small, your facility can help protect employees from getting COVID-19 by enacting an environmental monitoring program.
Coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) may be stable for up to 9 days on ambient surfaces, and may be active up to 28 days on surfaces at refrigerated temperatures (39°F/4°C) depending on conditions such as humidity and surface type.
The active virus is shed by infected people through nasal and oral as well as fecal shedding. Research has shown that people may acquire the virus via aerosols and after touching contaminated objects.
- Symptoms appear 2 – 14 days after exposure (median 5.1 days)
- Recovery time can be 12 – 32 days after onset of symptoms depending on severity.
Global Pandemic: Number of cases and mortality rate.
John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center updates statistics for infection, death and recovery rates.
Why is SARS-CoV2 so Infectious?
The higher infection rate of SARS-CoV2 may to be due to:
- Higher numbers of viruses in the upper respiratory tract (e.g., 1000X more).
- Greater potential to shed high numbers of the virus while asymptomatic
- Peak shedding of the virus occurs early in infection.
- It is likely that large droplets and not aerosols are the greatest contributor to the spread of the infection.
The New England Journal of Medicine has a comprehensive paper reviewing the infective stability between SARS-CoV2 and SARS-CoV1.
Detecting virus on surfaces has two purposes. Firstly, it is an early warning system – simply swab surfaces in high‐touch areas of facilities where people are congregating. Secondly, it allows for the validation and verification of cleaning and sanitizing protocol following all suspected or confirmed cases of COVID‐19 infection among employees, guests or patients. The test can be performed in any sized facility:
- Food Production & Distribution
- Retail and Foodservice
- Medical and Care Facilities
- Educational & Recreational Facilities
- Lodging & Hospitality
- Offices
The Covid-19 swab can be used on a diverse range of surfaces including all metals, plastics, rubber, laminate, wood, corrugate, porcelain, etc.
Preventing the Spread of SARS-CoV2
Tantamount to controlling the spread of SARS-CoV2 is keeping persons who may be in the early stages of illness away from uninfected people. People who are asymptomatic or presymptomatic can shed virus particles and infect others prior to feeling ill or receiving a diagnosis of Covid-19. Accordingly, detecting viral particles in your workplace is important for limiting risk within your facility.
Testing for SARS-Co-V2 on surfaces can identify possible contamination in high-touch areas in your facility. Further, it can be used to verify the effectiveness of your sanitation plan. Studies indicate the virus “survives” on hard surfaces (stainless steel, plastic) for 3 – 9 days and on porous surfaces for less than 1 day.
To purchase this analysis, we ask you to commit to testing 25 surface samples for the virus. You’ll receive a collection kit to swab 25 surfaces, and you can return those swabs to our partner lab at your convenience. You’ll get results the day after the lab receives the swabs.
What does the test look for?
The test will detect both active and inactive virus particles so it’s a great way to determine whether or not there are contaminated surfaces — but also whether or not your cleaning program is sufficient.
What does the sampling kit contain?
One kit contains pre-packed supplies to collect data from 25 surface locations (swabs, reagents, and resealable collection bags). You have six months from time of purchase to use all 25 swab packs; swabs can be shipped back to our partner lab in any volume; one at a time, all 25 at once, or anything in between.
Will I need anything else in order to conduct a test?
Items required but not supplied:
- additional sealable bag for return shipping (for example, our sterile sampling bags)
- cleaning solutions for sanitizing the outside of the bag and your test environment.
- PPE (gloves and facemask) to protect against sample contamination (available for purchase).
Need additional information? Emport is happy to answer your questions. Contact us!
We also offer video training for any locations that order the Covid-19 kit, so that we can go over correct swabbing technique with the team members doing the testing.
Eliminating the SARS-CoV2 Virus on Surfaces
Safe and clean work environments are crucial in the best of times, and even more so now. The surface disinfectants identified by EPA as being effective against SARS-CoV2 should be your first choice in your sanitation plan. Be sure to read and follow the instructions – including dwell time.
For more detailed information we suggest the following resources:
- COVID-19 PREVENTION: ENHANCED CLEANING AND DISINFECTION PROTOCOLS – University of Washington
- List N of disinfectants approved for use against SARS-CoV-2 – EPA
- Cleaning and Disinfection for Community Facilities – CDC
- How to clean and disinfect schools – CDC
- note! This page includes excellent guidance on the differences between cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing. An excerpt:
Know the difference between cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing
1. Cleaning removes germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces or objects. Cleaning works by using soap (or detergent) and water to physically remove germs from surfaces. This process does not necessarily kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection.
2. Disinfecting kills germs on surfaces or objects. Disinfecting works by using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces or objects. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of spreading infection.
3. Sanitizing lowers the number of germs on surfaces or objects to a safe level, as judged by public health standards or requirements. This process works by either cleaning or disinfecting surfaces or objects to lower the risk of spreading infection.
