Through various incidences of foodborne illness, interest in analytical technologies to identify harmful bacteria in food has grown tremendously. Additionally, there have been vast advancements in technologies, such as the irradiation of food and new anti-microbial washes and bacterial sprays to eliminate harmful bacteria from food products during processing. Analyzing food products for the presence of impurities, harmful bacteria, or other organisms presents many difficulties. The complexity of food and its many components make developing assessment tools a challenge over those for use with simple substances like water.

 

Once limited to time-consuming laboratory tests, many newer technologies in place today enable the rapid identification of harmful components in food so that items can be efficiently removed from the food supply system.

There are two major types of rapid assays—antibody-based and nucleic acid-based assays. Antibody-based assays rely on specific interactions between antigen and antibody. An antibody assay links a familiar characteristic on the bacteria’s surface (an antigen) to a substance known as an antibody. This connection is as specific as a key to a lock.