At the heart of the method is the patent pending application of phage as a selective agent for
Salmonella. Incorporated into the supplement formulation, phage enhances both the specificity
and sensitivity of the overall method. Phage are bacterial viruses that attack cross reactive
bacteria preventing them from causing a false positive reaction (specificity) in the assay. Phage
also attack competitive bacteria, allowing for a media formulation that creates optimum conditions
for rapid salmonella growth (sensitivity). The sample is enriched in the primary enrichment media
for 16-24 h at 42°C. After primary enrichment, a 0.1 mL aliquot is transferred to 1 mL of
secondary enrichment media, which is further incubated for 16-24 h (high burden foods) or
6-8 h (low burden foods) at 42°C.