A system to detect pathogens in hours was developed the University of Georgia

University of Georgia food scientist Xiangyu Deng has created a system that can identify foodborne pathogens much faster than traditional methods. Dr. Deng had combined the detection step and the identification of pathogens into a single step in a process called “metagenomics analysis”. He used Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) beads to capture the pathogens followed by the amplification of the DNA. “Using a new, very small sequencing tool that’s about the size of a USB drive, we can sequence while capturing the data in real time,” Deng said. The sequencer generates results in 1- 1.5 hours. The process was tested on raw chicken breast, lettuce and black peppercorn samples inoculated with salmonella and retail chicken parts that were naturally contaminated with different serotypes of salmonella. In one case, a small amount of salmonella was detected and subtyped from lettuce samples within 24 hours.@http://www.caes.uga.edu/newswire/story.html?storyid=7552