Develop Rapid Optical Detection Methods For Food Hazards

<p>The goal of the research is to develop and validate early, rapid, sensitive and/or high-throughput methods and techniques for detecting biological and physical hazards in poultry (food) products with optical sensing methods and instruments. Thus, the nature of the research is to combine chemistry and engineering disciplines (optical, agricultural, and food) with microbiological techniques to solve food safety detection problems in poultry (food). Specific objectives are: Objective 1: Develop high-speed imaging methods for rapid detection of pathogens in live poultry flocks, and foodborne hazards, including foreign materials, in processed poultry products. Sub-objective 1A: Develop Salmonella surveillance system for early detection of diseased birds. Sub-objective 1B: Develop high-speed hyperspectral imaging methods and system for foreign material detection. Objective 2: Develop rapid methods and protocols for early detection, identification, and quantification of pathogens in poultry products (foods) using imaging spectroscopy. Sub-objective 2A: Develop hyperspectral microscope imaging (HMI) methods and system for early detection and identification of pathogen at the cellular level. Sub-objective 2B: Develop fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) imaging methods to identify pathogenic bacteria at the cellular level. Sub-objective 2C: Develop nanobiosensor for pathogen detection with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) at the cellular level. Sub-objective 2D: Develop methods for intervention carryover for Salmonella detection. Sub-objective 2E: Develop methods for plate detection with optimized agar media at the colony level. Objective 3: Develop methods to detect biofilms in poultry processing facilities with optical technologies. In developing the methods assess if any biomarkers can be identified to enhance or improve the detection sensitivity or specificity.</p>