Mythbusting False Positives: The Presumption of Positivity and the Problem of Non Confirming Presumptives in Food Pathogen Diagnostics

Wednesday, November 3 | 11 am CDT

Today, there is a widely shared belief that the rate of non confirming presumptives (NCP’s) “false positives” in food pathogen diagnostics has increased significantly in recent years. This increase has been most closely associated with PCR and real time PCR testing. It has not yet been possible to answer the question definitively; nevertheless, the belief is real, and the limited data that have been analyzed suggest that non confirming presumptive rates are indeed on the rise.

Join us for this webinar, as Dr. Daniel DeMarco will attempt to answer the question as to why.

He will address a number of items that are critical to understanding the issue, including:
• Definitions of important terms, particularly “false positive” and “non confirming presumptive”;
• Uses of the term “presumptive positive”;
• Hypotheses which purport to explain the (supposed) increase in non-confirming presumptives.

He will close with some options to make the system work better for all stakeholders.

Calendar already booked up during this time? No problem! Register today, and you will receive a copy of the webinar recording within three business days after the live event.

The presentation is an updated and revised version of a popular talk given by Dr. DeMarco at IAFP2020 that was later published as an article in Food Safety Magazine in early 2021.