Nanosensors in food safety

Abstract

Food safety is a critical and persistent public health issue. The concerns associated with food safety are further intensified by improper hygiene, poor food handling practices, and contaminated food supplies, leading to a financial burden of foodborne disease (FBD). The FBDs are often linked to consumer illness, which bears high medical costs and loss of productivity and sales. To combat the threat of FBDs, an increased and comprehensive awareness of food safety is of paramount importance. The safety of the food enormously influences consumer health. There are several factors that ensure the safety of processed and packaged food commodities from pathogenic microorganisms, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Toxoplasma gondii, Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter coli, Bacillus cereus, Norovirus, and numerous others that can deleteriously impact human health. Hence considering the roles that food safety plays in both health and development, relevant actions have been taken by various agencies in different nations to improve the safety of the food supplied to the consumers. In the United States, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are key agencies providing food safety guidelines, standards, and policies to US entities and many other nations. The European Food Safety Authority and the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom were authorized to survey the quality and safety of foods sold in stores. In addition, they are also assigned the responsibility of performing research in food safety and, therefore, plays crucial roles in uplifting the food safety scenario in the EU, the UK, and across the globe. Various foodborne diseases cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Historically, efforts to reduce the life-threatening consequences of food contamination have been made by innovation in food preservation. Sun drying and cooking were conceivably the first methods used; later more sophisticated technologies, such as fermentation and canning, came into existence. In recent times, advanced technologies in food preservation and packaging have made food safer. As the global population is increasing, scientists with innovative approaches towards science and technology are working efficiently to provide the best quality and safest foods to consumers. In between these approaches, nanotechnology provides an advanced and powerful platform utilizing unique properties of materials emerging from nanometric size (1-100 nm) that have the prospect of revolutionizing agriculture and food sectors, biomedicine, environment safety, energy conservation, and many other areas.