A new device which cuts the time taken to detect bacteria in food down to a matter of hours has been developed by scientists who said it would help reduce the number of food poisoning cases.
The University of Southampton's Biolisme project has developed the new sensor which is capable of collecting and detecting Listeria monocytogenes on food industry surfaces, preventing contaminated products from entering the market.
Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen that causes listeriosis, an infection with symptoms of fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to more serious complications, like meningitis.
Transmitted by ready-to-eat foods, such as milk, cheese, vegetables, raw and smoked fish, meat and cold cuts, Listeria monocytogenes has the highest hospitalisation (92 per cent) and death (18 per cent) rate among all foodborne pathogens.
Listeriosis mainly affects pregnant women, new-born children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
"Current techniques to detect the bacteria take days of testing in labs, but the new device aims to collect and detect the pathogen on location within three to four hours," a university spokesman said.
"This early and rapid detection can avoid the cross contamination of ready-to-eat food products.
The spokesman explained that the new device was designed to sample single cells and biofilms - groups of microorganisms where cells stick together on surfaces.
Compressed air and water is used to remove the cells before they are introduced to an antibody.
If Listeria monocytogenes is present, cells react with the antibody to produce a florescent signal, which is detected by a special camera.
Doctor Salome Giao, from Southampton's Centre for Biological Science Unit, who worked on the technique with Professor Bill Keevil, said: "The scientific research we have carried out at the University of Southampton has been used by our Biolisme project partners to develop a device which will have major implications for the food industry.
"By making the process simpler we hope that testing will be conducted more frequently, thereby reducing the chance of infected food having to be recalled or making its way to the consumer."
The prototype sensor, which is being created by a consortium of six partners across four EU countries, has been finalised in France and field trials are under way to test the device before it is demonstrated in food factories.
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