The solution of iMiCROQ, which is addressed to companies in the food industry and quality control laboratories, automates the analysis of food to facilitate the identification of substances that pose a risk to humans and prevent them from causing infections or diseases. The platform integrates in a single equipment different types of tests to detect infectious or pathogenic agents such as salmonella or listeria bacteria, or viruses, as well as allergens such as gluten. The solution includes DNA tests and immunoassays, among others, that analyse samples of food, water, dust, environmental or animal faeces.

The objective of iMiCROQ, which will be developed within the framework of QSEIF project, is to identify risks to human health at different points in the food chain. Foodborne diseases cause 420,000 deaths each year, while infectious diseases account for 16.2% of total deaths per year. Therefore, detecting infectious agents quickly and reliably is a matter of public safety.

With the integration of the different tests in a single automated device, it also facilitates the reduction of the investment necessary for these analyses, the workspace in the laboratory and the time of staff dedication, which up to now was done manually, or using different high cost equipment.

QSEIF project aims to raise awareness among companies to increase these analyses in their products and improve food safety. The applications that can be carried out in the device will be continuously growing thanks to the activity of iMiCROQ R&D Department, bringing higher versatility and providing a greater benefit to its users.

iMiCROQ is a spin-off of the Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona created in 2010 and currently has 20 employees. The company expects to begin pilot tests of the platform during 2020 with potential user companies. iMiCROQ is in expansion, seeking investors to strengthen its international development and distribution network, currently in different countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

iMiCROQ appreciates the support of ACCIÓ – the agency for the competitiveness of the companies, which depends on the Department of Enterprise and Knowledge of the Generalitat of Catalonia -, to achieve the 1.2 million euros of aid from the SME Instrument of the European Commission.

QSEIF Project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 849973.

You can contact with Palex Medical División Laboratorio team through

• Customer service: laboratorio@palex.es | 900180132
• Commercial department: Raúl Gomez | r.gomez@palex.es | 91737653

You can see the full statement in the following link.

The aim of the workshop is to provide a theoretical and practical vision on innovative methods to detect, count, isolate and characterize microorganisms in food products and water. In this edition, the key-note speaker will be José Juan Rodríguez Jerez (UAB), sharing his knowledge on rapid methods and automation in microbiology.

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iMiCROQ was created in 2010 as a technology-based company as spin-off of Universitat Rovira i Virgili and currently has 14 employees with a high qualification and experience. In the first two years of market access, the QFast^® platform has been implemented in ISO 17025 accredited laboratories, internal control laboratories, poultry integrations, feed and raw material producers, animal health companies and small and medium-sized food companies.

Classical ELISA / ELONA assays can be easily implemented in QFast^® bringing technical advantages that reduce interferences by improving selectivity, reduce manipulation and total time, as well as improve sensitivity, generating countless applications in on-site diagnostics in veterinary and clinical diagnostics areas.

iMiCROQ currently offers instrumentation packs and kits for the detection of Salmonella spp. in veterinary, environmental and food samples. These kits are internationally validated against reference method and Gen-QFast^® Listeria monocytogenes and QFast^® Sakazakii kits are in the process of being certified. The current portfolio is complemented by kits for the DNA detection of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium.

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HARD EASY VETERINARY is specially designed for the detection of Salmonella spp. in veterinary samples from the poultry industry.

It has the following advantages over the HARD+ protocol:

• Adaptation of incubation times to laboratory schedules.
• Optimization of time in the laboratory taking advantage of non-working days.
• Reduction of handling operations without compromising the selectivity of efficiency.
• Reduction of costs. The protocol is certified UNE/EN/ISO 16140:2003 as an alternative method to ISO 6579:2002.

SOFT BASIC Presentation

A supplement is supplied to add directly on your buffered peptone water. It has the following advantages:

• Optimization of laboratory resources enabling the use of the same standard sample preparation plus the addition of the supplement after obtaining the different aliquots for other determinations.
• Reduction of storage space, packaging and waste volume.
• Increase of productivity- It is not necessary to prepare a second weighting of sample.
• Cost reduction.

HARD DRY BAG Presentation

The pre-enrichment Medium 1 is provided in dehydrated irradiated format to be reconstituted samply by adding sterile deionized wáter. It has the following advantages:

• Easy and fast to prepare, more operating efficiency.
• Irradiated product. No further sterilization is required.
• You can use the provided medium bag in your blender homogenizer.
• Reduction of storage space, packaging and waste volume.

OUR PRESENTATION FORMATS

	RTU: Ready to use  All culture media in ready-to-use format. Includes all the auxiliary material needed to carry out the analysis: containers, micropipette tips, sterile microtubes, etc…
	TBR: To be reconstituted  More compact and economical format ideal for laboratories that process high number of samples. Culture media should be prepared and sterilized before use. You can use your own materials (containers, auxiliary material).
	Dry bag: Dehydrated pre-enrichment medium in irradiated bag  Optimal solution for customers that required reduced pric e without compromising ease of use and storage space. Pre-enrichment medium is prepared easily by the addition of 215ml of sterile deionized water using, for example, an automatic dilutor,

In this way, the commercial presentations of QFast Salmonella that we make available to our customers are the following:

This enhancement allows us to restructure the way we do shipments. By eliminating unnecessary packaging we can reduce the size of the kits, reducing the volume of waste and promoting a more compact and sustainable transport.

We take this opportunity to remind you of the storage conditions of the different reagents in the kit.

Obtaining the INNOVATIVE PYME seal is a recognition of the innovation and constant development that iMiCROQ carries out thanks to its R&D projects, focused mainly on the development of fast, simple and reliable pathogen detection methods in the food industry.

The accreditation of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness certifies the adhesion of the company to the Register of Innovative SMEs.