AiGOR: Why Detecting RNA Lets TAAG Cut Salmonella Control from Days to Hours

When TAAG presented AiGOR at Expo Científica CTR 2026, alongside SENASICA, it explained the platform's central idea: detecting RNA and not just DNA. That technical decision is what lies behind Elevia 1.1, the kit that just won the 2026 Food Innovation Award, and it explains why its results arrive in hours.

Conventional PCR amplifies DNA fragments, a material that can be present in both living and dead cells. In foods and surfaces treated with heat or sanitizers, this can produce signals from microorganisms that no longer pose a risk. RNA, by contrast, reflects the cell's activity at the time of analysis, so the signal is more directly tied to what remains alive in the sample.

The second effect is time. Culture methods need to enrich the sample for 24 to 48 hours so that a few cells reach a detectable quantity, and then plate, incubate and confirm, which adds up to two or three days. By targeting a signal from active microorganisms, AiGOR makes it possible to skip or greatly shorten that step: Elevia 1.1 delivers results in 3 hours for environmental samples and 7 hours for food.

The third effect is operational. A plant that receives the result the same day can release product, repeat a sanitation or investigate a source of contamination before the batch moves on, instead of reacting several days late. That is the difference the award recognizes: not just a different technique, but more timely food safety decisions.

AiGOR is the foundation of the Elevia suite, which TAAG builds on RT-qPCR, and Elevia 1.1 for Salmonella spp. is its first product, with AOAC-PTM certification, license No. 072601. With that backing and international recognition, the company aims for rapid molecular detection to stop being the exception and become part of the routine of microbiological control in the food industry.