June 9, 2022
Michigan State University aims to create cell phone-based test to detect bacteria on poultry
Researchers at Michigan State University are working on a rapid testing cell phone method to detect bacteria on poultry that causes human illnesses such as infections from salmonella and campylobacter.
Led by Evangelyn Alocilja, a professor in the MSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, the research team's work is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Food Research Initiative. The grant is for US$769,000.
Alocilja said if the researchers can troubleshoot problems before the products leave farms and processors, that would go a long way to improving food safety.
The researcher said previous studies have shown poultry products are one of the most common sources of human infection due to bacterial contamination from farm production practices and processing equipment.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the US economic burden of salmonella and campylobacter from all sources exceeded US$6 billion in 2018.
Currently, it takes days to weeks for culture testing to identify bacteria on poultry, according to Alocilja, and some modern rapid tests are extremely expensive and require training. The goal is to create rapid tests that are inexpensive and accessible, and easy enough to use that people from many different industries can implement them, she said.
For the project, the team's objectives are to optimise Alocilja's existing biosensor technologies for salmonella and campylobacter, develop a cell phone-based application that captures and analyses data from the test and validate the process at several poultry farms and processing facilities.
Preliminary results showed the biosensor was able to detect genomic DNA of foodborne pathogens in roughly an hour.
"We want to ensure that food is safe while also helping processors get their products into the hands of consumers quickly," Alocilja said.
- Food Safety News
