Comprehensive evaluation of a high throughput culture-independent diagnostic test (CIDT) against standard methods for simultaneous detection of common food-borne pathogens in foods

The purpose of this project is to evaluate a metabarcoding method based on PCR and a high throughput sequencing technology to simultaneously detect all concerned bacterial pathogens and indicators in foods to support advancement and improvement of food safety monitoring programs to enhance food safety. Specific objectives of the project are: 1) to integrate the targeted metabarcoding method based on the 16S and 23S rRNA gene sequences of bacteria with existing procedures for sample preparation and pre-enrichment for simultaneous detection of concerned food-borne bacterial pathogens and indicators in a single test. 2) to validate the metabarcoding method against standard testing methods using spiked and naturally contaminated food samples from routine monitoring and surveillance programs. 3) to assess the value, economic and other impacts of using the metabarcoding approach as compared to standard testing methods.