LASER DIAGNOSTICS OF MICROBIAL POPULATIONS IN FOOD PROCESSING SYSTEMS.

FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES REQUIRE MICROBIAL AND METABOLITE DATA FOR INGREDIENT CONTROL AND PRODUCT OPTIMIZATION. CURRENT MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES DO NOT PROVIDE SUFFICIENT SPEED OF RESPONSE TO PERMIT THEIR USE IN ON-LINE PRODUCT DIAGNOSIS AND CONTROL. TO ALLEVIATE THIS SITUATION THE PRESENT PROPOSAL SUGGESTS THE APPLICATION OF LASER TECHNOLOGY TO THE MONITORING AND QUALITY CONTROL OF MICROBIAL POPULATIONS IN FOOD PROCESSING FACILITIES. THE TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY IS THE COMBINATION OF LASER INDUCED FLUORESCENT SIGNATURES WITH ON-LINE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS TO BROADEN CURRENT CAPABILITIES IN THE RAPID DETERMINATION OF MICROBIAL STATE. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH OBJECTIVES WOULD RESULT IN THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF AN INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM FOR EXTENSIVE FIELD TESTING AND PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT IN PHASE II OF THE PROGRAM.