Safeguarding Our Food Supply Materials

SAFEGUARDING OUR FOOD SUPPLY

MATERIALS ENGINEERING

The Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center, or AUDFS, is spearheading efforts to increase food safety and detection, primarily with biomolecular recognition and detection devices. Commissioned in 1999, the center aims to improve the safety of the U.S. food system by rapidly identifying, pinpointing and characterizing problems that arise in the food supply chain through the integration of sensor and information systems technology. Led by Bryan Chin and ZhongYang Cheng, the center targets these critical issues from different angles to reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 48 million Americans got sick from foodborne diseases in 2018. Of that number, approximately 128,000 were hospitalized, and 3,000 died. “No longer are the foods that we eat locally grown or locally processed, but they come to us from across the world,” Chin said. “This has complicated the ability to ensure the safety of the foods today.” Chin and Cheng are perfecting various technologies, including air sampling for E. coli detection on spinach leaves, liquid phage solutions for cleaning of food preparation surfaces, and invasive insect species detection using automated smart traps. The use of RNA-based biosensors as pathogen detectors will enable inspectors to more readily identify bacteria in food. “This biosensor will provide the inspector with an infield evaluation of the bacterial contamination,” Chin said. “The inspector will be able to say right then and there whether the food is contaminated or not.” One facet of the center’s research is to develop, demonstrate and field test an accurate and easy-to-use biosensor for pathogen detection of salmonella contamination in fresh fruits like tomatoes, cantaloupes and watermelons. “The inspector looks for what we would call unsanitary conditions which may harbor bacteria, but he cannot with the human eye identify the presence of the biological pathogens,” Chin said.

BRYAN CHIN

Daniel F. and Josephine Breeden Professor of Materials Engineering Director, Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center 334-844-3322 chinbry@auburn.edu Website: aub.ie/BChin

ZHONGYANG CHENG

Alumni Professor of Materials Engineering Associate Director, Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center 334-844-3419 chengzh@eng.auburn.edu Website: aub.ie/ZYCheng