Emerging Point-of-care Technologies for Food Safety Analysis

Abstract

Food safety issues have recently attracted public concern. The deleterious effects of compromised food safety on health have rendered food safety analysis an approach of paramount importance. While conventional techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry have traditionally been utilized for the detection of food contaminants, they are relatively expensive, time-consuming and labor intensive, impeding their use for point-of-care (POC) applications. In addition, accessibility of these tests is limited in developing countries where food-related illnesses are prevalent. There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop simple and robust diagnostic POC devices. POC devices, including paper- and chip-based devices, are typically rapid, cost-effective and user-friendly, offering a tremendous potential for rapid food safety analysis at POC settings. Herein, we discuss the most recent advances in the development of emerging POC devices for food safety analysis. We first provide an overview of common food safety issues and the existing techniques for detecting food contaminants such as foodborne pathogens, chemicals, allergens, and toxins. The importance of rapid food safety analysis along with the beneficial use of miniaturized POC devices are subsequently reviewed. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspectives of developing the miniaturized POC devices for food safety monitoring are briefly discussed.

A Critical Comparison between Flow-through and Lateral Flow Immunoassay Formats for Visual and Smartphone-Based Multiplex Allergen Detection

“…Therefore, it is imperative to engage the public with their own food allergen analysis by developing consumer-friendly detection methods [9,10]. The cornerstones to consumer-friendly allergen detection are speed, sensitivity, ease-of-use, affordability, portability, multiplexing capability and a simple read-out system.…”

Biofilm formation and extracellular microvesicles—The way of foodborne pathogens toward resistance

“…Consequently, a complete biosensor for analysis of food samples has an integrated unit for sample preparation [2,225]. Choi et al [226] gave a still valid overview of the use of miniaturized sensors for immediate, so-called" point-of-care (POC) food safety analyses. These miniaturized sensing devices include: A book that was recently published by Jafarizadeh-Malmiri et al [227] has a focus on the benefits of the use of nanotechnology in the food industry, starting with food processing, packaging, transport, safety, and quality control.…”

“…About 10 years ago, Velusamy et al published a still frequently cited review about perspectives for use of biosensors for the detection of foodborne pathogens [229]. They were right, and magnetic particle-based biosensors are now used for POC food safety analyses [226]. However, as in the early clinical diagnosis, POC is essential for fast and reliable food pathogen detection and personalized diagnosis, but there are still limitations.…”

Application of Microfluidic Chip Technology in Food Safety Sensing

“…Solving food safety problems requires monitoring the entire process of food production, processing, and distribution from farm to table. Food safety analysis and testing is an important means to control food contamination and supervision [4][5][6]. The traditional detection technology is generally based on instrumental analysis, which is accurate and reliable, but it has some limitations, such as expensive instruments, long cycle, large material consumption, complicated operation and low sensitivity, so it is difficult to meet the needs of the on-site, real-time, rapid and portable detection of food [7][8][9][10].…”