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Rapid food safety testing could be a year away

Researchers are about a year away from developing rapid tests to detect some foodborne illnesses.

Michigan State University Nano BioSensor researcher Vangie Alocilja is leading a project to develop a test kit for poultry producers to quickly detect traces of salmonella before birds are processed.

“If you can detect it early, you can also isolate the infected animal as soon as possible so you don’t sacrifice the rest of your farm,” she says.

She says the kits will have applications for other diseases like African Swine Fever and reduce the impacts of foodborne illnesses.

“We just cannot afford to throw away our food and water or anything that we have from the farm,” she says. “If we can maximize them, we can maximize basically the provision of nutritious safe food,” she says.

Alocilja says faster results will also reduce quarantines, food waste, and improve interventions.

She says the same technology is being used to test for antibiotic resistance in the medical field.

Brownfield interviewed Alocilja during the recent Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market Expo in Grand Rapids.