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The project is aimed at the development of a rapid and highly sensitive method of detecting contamination of food products by bacteria known to cause illnesses. Use of the detection method should increase the safety of agricultural products.
The project will be centered on rapid detection of bacteria containing harmful toxins called Shiga-like toxins. One bacteria strain with these toxins, E. coli 0157:H7, has caused some of the well publicized outbreaks of disease associated with eating fast foods. Strains of bacteria with these toxins can cause severe diarrhea, kidney problems, and in some cases death. The toxins come from special genes call SLT genes. We will screen beef products for harmful bacteria by looking for the SLT genes. Our method involves two procedures, polymerase chain reaction and biosensor detection. The polymerase chain reaction makes enough DNA for the biosensor to test. The biosensor will only bind and identify the SLT genes. The presence of harmful bacteria in food is indicated when the biosensor signals the presence of SLT genes. The procedure will take less that half a working day and be much more rapid than current methods. Screening of beef using the biosensor could prevent contaminated beef from reaching retail markets.Increased food safety and consumer confidence in agricultural products should result. The biosensor will serve as a prototype for other similar biosensors capable of detecting may harmful organisms in food. The ultimate project benefit expected is increased food safety.