Taking advantage of a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), scientists have developed a molecular-based method for checking food safety.
The technique distinguishes live bacterial cells from dead ones, allowing food safety checkers to identify a whole suite of pathogens in food.
Food contamination scares, regulatory measures and the cost of recalls have driven the demand for better pathogen testing equipment in the market.
Microbiologist Robert Levin and doctoral student Shishan Wang at the University of Massachusetts Amherst say the method could help food processors avoid the costs of having to make massive recalls of meat carrying such pathogens as E. coli.
The new method uses a variation of PCR techniques, which scientists use to make lots of copies of a small, specific stretch of DNA. PCR generates large quantities of DNA from tiny samples. It can be used to detect very small quantities of pathogens.
Using PCR, the researchers developed a technique to test seafood for the DNA of Vibrio vulnificus, a disease-causing bacterium from the same family as those that cause cholera.