Chapter 3 - Detection of foodborne organisms: In the perspective of biosensors

Abstract

Food safety is a critical issue worldwide due to foodborne diseases that affect human health. Foodborne illnesses are a global public health concern that has been categorized as food poisoning caused by contaminated food consumption. The occurrence of foodborne pathogens in food becomes a primary concern of both consumers and food producers. Early screening for foodborne pathogens is essential for controlling the outbreaks of epidemics. Thus, much research is focused on developing quick, reliable, robust, sensitive, and specific diagnostic tools to identify the pathogens present. Recent advances in biosensor approaches to detect foodborne microorganisms in different food matrix are widely emphasized in this chapter with different bioreceptors and transducer. Furthermore, the biosensors of the principles, benefits, sensitivity, and specificity are discussed. Bioreceptors are explained in terms of the biological recognition element used, including antibodies, biomimetics, cells, enzymes, DNA, and phage sensitive to the recognition of specific pathogens. Various transducers such as the electrochemical biosensor, the mass-sensitive biosensor, and the optical biosensor used to convert the biorecognition event into measurable signals are highlighted. It highlights the performance parameters of these sensors and provides information on the current status and prospects of the biosensor. In conclusion, high sensitivity and specificity-based nanotechnology-based biosensors for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms in food may be alternative devices to overcome the limitations of traditional techniques.