Food safe pathogen surrogates based on encapsulated short DNA sequences for rapid verification of sanitation in food processing

Food Safe Pathogen Surrogates for Rapid Verification of Sanitation in Food ProcessingPhase IIProject SummaryFood safety is a major issue with global impactThe CDC estimates that in the U Salonedeaths are caused each year due to foodborne illnessesIt is estimated that a total ofmillion food related illness cases occurred inwith the U Sspending $billion on treatment rather than preventionFood Quality and Safety MagazineEven though foodborne illnesses are often attributed to meatdairyand seafoodoutbreaks due to contaminated produce have been on the riseHarris et alLynch et alCallej n et alFresh fruits and vegetables are mostly grown outdoorsleaving them susceptible to potential environmental contaminationWashing is the primary method employed by processors to ensure the safety of the produce they supplyHoweverwashing is not always effective in removing microbial contaminantsdecontaminationIf the wash system is improperly managedcross contamination can covert a small contamination event into an outbreak eventSafeTraces is proposing the development of SafeTracersa reliablerepeatablecontinuousfaston site test performed on finished productto ensure appropriate washing by assessing decontamination and risk of cross contamination of fresh produceSafeTracersare edibleGenerally Recognized As Safemicroparticlestagged with non livingnon viable DNAthat behave like pathogens under wash conditionsThey will enable validationverificationand continuous monitoring of decontamination and cross contamination in wash systemsSafeTracerswill be easily retrofitted on any wash systemand will be robust and simple to operateDuring Phase IIwe will compare SafeTracersto prominent pathogens for their attachmentdetachmenttransferand inactivation on abioticglass and stainless steeland on producespinachsurfacesWe will develop a simple workflow to sample finished productmeasure SafeTracerslevelsand assess the effectiveness of the wash processall in less thanminutesFurthermorewe will develop a SafeTracersbased method to assess the risk of Ecoli cross contamination for leafy produce commodities in both one pass and flume wash systems using chlorinated water washFinallywe will complete validation studies for the two SafeTracersbased methods aimed at assessing the risks for insufficient decontamination and cross contamination in wash systems operating under validated conditions and processing leafy greens