Design of real-time pathogen monitoring device for sampled food products during shipment

Abstract

In the realm of food safety, the standard practice involves collecting food product samples and sending them to a central laboratory for microbiological testing. However, this process introduces delays in obtaining the microbiological testing results and subsequently affects the timely delivery of food products to consumers. To further reduce the time-to-detection issue, we propose the development of a self-contained, battery-operated, high-sensitivity optical sensor that can be affixed to the cap of the typical food sample collection container. This device, called MPACT, offers real-time and in-transit monitoring of the contamination status of the food sample, specifically targeting E. coli O157:H7, through a bioluminescence assay. The assay exclusively targets the target pathogen and, when detected, produces minimal luminescence. As the sample is transported in the container, the number of bacterial cells multiplies, and once the luminescent signal reaches a predefined threshold, the sensor reports the results via Bluetooth. This study focuses on the design of the bottle cap sensor and examines its sensitivity by subjecting it to bioluminescence samples.