Food Safety Security Research Articles

Flash heating process for efficient meat preservation

Maintaining food safety and quality is critical for public health and food security. Conventional food preservation methods, such as pasteurization and dehydration, often change the overall organoleptic quality of the food products. Herein, we demonstrate a method that affects only a thin surface layer of the food, using beef as a model. In this method, Joule heating is generated by applying high electric power to a carbon substrate in <1 s, which causes a transient increase of the substrate temperature to > ~2000 K. The beef surface in direct contact with the heating substrate is subjected to ultra-high temperature flash heating, leading to the formation of a microbe-inactivated, dehydrated layer of ~100 µm in thickness. Aerobic mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast and mold on the treated samples are inactivated to a level below the detection limit and remained low during room temperature storage of 5 days. Meanwhile, the product quality, including visual appearance, texture, and nutrient level of the beef, remains mostly unchanged. In contrast, microorganisms grow rapidly on the untreated control samples, along with a rapid deterioration of the meat quality. This method might serve as a promising preservation technology for securing food safety and quality.

Time-course transcriptomic information unravels the mechanisms of improved drought tolerance by drought-priming in wheat

Frequent drought events especially those occur in the reproductive stages severely restrict global crop productivity. Moderate drought priming during the earlier growth stages is a promising strategy for plants to resist to recurrent severe drought stress. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we subjected wheat plants to drought priming during the vegetative growth stage and to severe drought stress at 10 days after anthesis. We then collected leaf samples at the ends of the drought priming, recovery periods, and at the ends of drought stress for transcriptome sequencing in combination with phenotypic and physiological determination. The drought-primed wheat plant maintained a lower plant temperature, with higher stomatal openness and photosynthesis, thereby resulting in much less 1,000-grain weight and grain yield losses under the later drought stress than the non-primed plants. Interestingly, 416 genes of which 27 transcription factors (e.g., MYB, NAC, HSF) seemed to be closely related to the improved drought tolerance as indicated by the dynamic transcriptome analysis. Moreover, the candidate genes showed six temporal expression patterns and significantly enriched in several stress response related pathways such as plant hormone signal transduction, starch and sucrose metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, inositol phosphate metabolism, and wax synthesis. These findings illustrate new insights into physiological and molecular mechanisms of the long-term effects of early drought priming to effectively improve drought tolerance in wheat, which proved potential approaches to challenge the increasing abiotic stresses and secure food safety under global warming scenarios.

거동 불편한 저소득 노인의 식품안전행동 영향요인에 관한 연구

Healthy eating in terms of nutrition and food safety is crucial for preserving an older adult’s quality of life when their immune systems start to decline. However, it has not gotten the same attention as other age groups. In order to map out a path for secure food safety in later life, this study provided meal services to low-income older adults with limited mobility and examined the determinants impacting their food safety behavior. In Seoul, a pre- and post-test survey was done on 104 older people who had used a healthy meal delivery service, and the results were compared and reviewed with survey data collected from 38 older people who had not used the service. The six-month subscription to the healthy meal delivery service includes daily nutritional monitoring, nutrition delivery, frequent counseling and educational services from a dietician, as well as lunch boxes customized to the customers' health state. The study revealed that older individuals in the experimental group had higher levels of the food safety behavior index after using the service. The index for the older individuals in the comparison group remained unchanged. The use of healthy meal delivery services including nutrition and food safety education was the only factor, according to regression analysis, that had a statistically significant impact on the older people's behaviors related to food safety when socio-demographic variables were controlled. These results show that regular information exchange and dietitian counseling have a positive influence on the food safety practices of elderly low-income individuals with limited mobility. Future legislative and practical initiatives will be required to provide regular dietitian monitoring and intervention to ensure food safety for elderly low-income individuals with limited mobility.

Root cell-type specific expressions of bacterial mercury transporter MerC and plant SNARE SYP121 fusion protein differentially affect cadmium accumulation patterns of Arabidopsis

ABSTRACT There is increasing demand for solutions against cadmium pollution to secure food safety, and phytoremediation is one of the potential tools. We previously found that a bacterial mercury transporter MerC possesses cadmium uptake activity and its overexpression as a fusion protein with a plasma-membrane resident SNARE protein, SYP121 enhances the cadmium uptake ability of Arabidopsis plants. In this study, we examined whether two different root cell-type specific expression systems of MerC-SYP121 fusion protein could efficiently enhance cadmium accumulation of Arabidopsis plants, compared to the p35S-driven ubiquitous expression system. Representative transgenic lines expressing MerC-SYP121 in root surface cells (pEpi lines) or root endodermal cells (pSCR lines), established in our previous studies, were subjected to different cadmium treatments along with the p35S line. A vertical agar plate assay showed that root surface-specific line pEpi, as well as the p35S line, showed about 15% higher cadmium accumulation in shoots after one-day 10 µM cadmium treatment, compared to the wild-type Col-0. On the other hand, the endodermis-specific line pSCR accumulated 30% less cadmium in its shoots. A similar cadmium accumulation pattern in shoots was observed under the environmentally relevant much lower cadmium treatment of 0.1 µM for 4 d, using the hydroponic culture system. To further examine the potential of the MerC-SYP121 expression system for cadmium phytoremediation, the transgenic plants were hydroponically exposed to 0.1 µM for 4 weeks. The cadmium accumulation after the 4 weeks of treatment was again 16% higher in the pEpi shoots compared to that of Col-0, whereas the p35S line only showed 6% higher Cd concentration. Shoots of the pSCR line accumulated slightly less cadmium compared to Col-0. Ionomic profiles in these plants were analyzed, however, pSCR-specific patterns were not evident. Nevertheless, in our previous studies, pEpi and pSCR lines both efficiently accumulated more mercury in shoots than in the wild-type. The presented results suggest that the effects of cell-type-specific MerC-SYP121 expression differ by the target metals and its expression in root surface cells rather than that in endodermis is suitable for enhancing root cadmium uptake and subsequent shoot accumulation.

D-tartaric acid doping improves the performance of whole-cell bacteria imprinted polymer for sensing Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Whole-cell bacteria imprinted polymer-based sensors still face challenges in the form of the difficulty of removing the template entirely, low affinity, and poor sensitivity. To further improve their performance, it is pivotal to modulate the morphology and chemical properties of imprintied polymer by taking advantage of doping engineering. Here we introduced D-tartaric acid (D-TA) as a dopant and employed pyrrole as a functional monomer to construct D-TA/polypyrrole (PPy)-based bacteria imprinted polymer (DPBIP) sensor for Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VP) detection. It is demonstrated that D-TA doping can synergistically accelerate the removal of template bacteria from imprinted polymers (1.5 h), improve bacteria affinity of imprinted sites (the recognition time of 30 min), and enhance the sensitivity of DPBIP sensor (a detection limit of 19 CFU mL−1). The DPBIP sensor had a linear range of 102∼106 CFU mL−1 and exhibited high selectivity and good repeatability. Moreover, a recovery of 94.8%–105.3% was achieved in drinking water and oyster samples. Therefore, small functional molecules doping opens a new avenue to engineering BIP-based sensors with high performance, holding potential applications in securing food safety.

Biochar-immobilized Bacillus megaterium enhances Cd immobilization in soil and promotes Brassica chinensis growth

Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) has been considered an environmental-friendly phosphate fertilizer without cadmium (Cd) input into soils, but its possibility of Cd fixation in soil needs to be explored. Since direct inoculation results in a rapid decline of the population and activity, we immobilized Bacillus megaterium with maize straw biochar (B-PSB) and investigated its feasibility in remediating Cd-contaminated soil. Pot experiments showed that the application of B-PSB significantly ameliorated the growth of Brassica chinensis under Cd stress, with a fresh weight increased by 59.08% compared to the Cd-control. B-PSB reduced Cd accumulation in Brassica chinensis by 61.69%, and promoted the uptake of P and N by 134.97% and 98.71% respectively. Microbial community analysis showed B-PSB recruited more plant growth-promoting bacteria in near-rhizosphere soil, which provides a favorable microenvironment for both PSB and crops. Column leaching experiments verified that B-PSB achieved the dissolution of stable P while fixing Cd. Batch tests further revealed that biochar served as a successful carrier facilitating the growth of B. megaterium and Cd immobilization. Given the widespread Cd contamination in agricultural soils, our results indicate that B-PSB is a promising soil amendment to secure food safety.

Secure Food-Allergen Determination by Combining Smartphone-Based Raw Image Analyses and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for the Quantification of Proteins Contained in Lateral Flow Assays.

The current food safety testing system, based on laboratory-based quantification, is difficult to scale up in line with the growth in the export market and does not enable traceability through the nodes of the food supply system. Screening assays, for example, lateral flow assays (LFAs), can improve traceability but often lack the required reliability to guarantee compliance. Here, we present an alternative pipeline for secure on-site compliance testing, using allergens as a case study. The pipeline features smartphone-driven LFA quantification and an liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method enabling direct quantification of the allergens contained in the LFA. The system enables swift and objective screening and provides a control measure to verify LFA assay reliability. For the smartphone assay, 8-bit RGB and grayscale colorimetric channels were compared with 16-bit raw intensity values. The latter outperformed RGB and grayscale channels in sensitivity, repeatability, and precision, while ratiometric ambient light correction resulted in excellent robustness for light-intensity variation. Calibration curves for peanut determination using two commercial LFAs featured excellent analytical parameters (R2 = 0.97-0.99; RSD 7-1%; LOD 3-7 ppm). Gluten determination with a third commercial LFA was equally established. A prediction error of 13 ± 11% was achieved for the best performing assay. Good performance-calibration curves (R2 = 0.93-0.99) and CVs (<15%)- were observed for the analyte quantification from the LFA by LC-MS. The LOD for the LC-MS assay was 0.5 ppm, well below the LODs reported for the LFAs. This method creates a digital, fast, and secure food safety compliance testing paradigm that can benefit the industry and consumer alike.

Identification of genetically modified organisms in foods of plant origin as a way to control health risks for consumers

Uncontrolled distribution of goods produced by genetically modified plants should be prevented by the state in order to secure food safety in the Russian Federation and to minimize health risks for consumers. We analyzed foods of plant origin for children to identify components of genetically modified organisms in them. It was done to ensure safety of such foods. The highest specific weight among the analyzed foods belonged to nectars (40.0 %) and juice-containing drinks (36.0 %). Juices and fruit drinks accounted for 12 % each. Genetically modified organisms were determined in foods by identifying regulatory sequences (35S promoter, FMV promoter and NOS terminator) that are widely used in constructions of genetically modified plants. Occurrence of regulatory genetic elements specific for genetically modified organisms was checked in juice products for children by the polymerase chain reaction in real-time mode with hybridization-fluorescent detection of amplification products and with the use of the “AmpliSens GM Plant-1-FL” and “AmpliKvant GM soya-FL” test systems. The results of this study showed that no analyzed foods of plant origin contained any regulatory sequences (35S, NOS и FMV) indicating presence of genetically modified organisms. Fluorescence through the FAM, Cy5 and ROX channels did not exceed its threshold value. Therefore, we did not detect any violations of the established requirements to occurrence of genetically modified organisms in foods for children. Further investigation that would involve examining a more extensive material is required to ensure proper assessment and control of food contamination with genetically modified organisms in order to ensure food safety.

Идентификация генетически модифицированных организмов в пищевой продукции растительного происхождения как средство контроля рисков для здоровья потребителей

Uncontrolled distribution of goods produced by genetically modified plants should be prevented by the state in order to secure food safety in the Russian Federation and to minimize health risks for consumers. We analyzed foods of plant origin for children to identify components of genetically modified organisms in them. It was done to ensure safety of such foods. The highest specific weight among the analyzed foods belonged to nectars (40.0 %) and juice-containing drinks (36.0 %). Juices and fruit drinks accounted for 12 % each. Genetically modified organisms were determined in foods by identifying regulatory sequences (35S promoter, FMV promoter and NOS terminator) that are widely used in constructions of genetically modified plants. Occurrence of regulatory genetic elements specific for genetically modified organisms was checked in juice products for children by the polymerase chain reaction in real-time mode with hybridization-fluorescent detection of amplification products and with the use of the “AmpliSens GM Plant-1-FL” and “AmpliKvant GM soya-FL” test systems. The results of this study showed that no analyzed foods of plant origin contained any regulatory sequences (35S, NOS и FMV) indicating presence of genetically modified organisms. Fluorescence through the FAM, Cy5 and ROX channels did not exceed its threshold value. Therefore, we did not detect any violations of the established requirements to occurrence of genetically modified organisms in foods for children. Further investigation that would involve examining a more extensive material is required to ensure proper assessment and control of food contamination with genetically modified organisms in order to ensure food safety.

Investigation of Sterilization Effect for Overlapping Pieces in Non-Thermal Sterilization Method of Packaged Fresh Foods Using Pulsed Barrier Discharge

It is important to secure food safety. If a packaged food can be sterilized, food poisoning can be reduced considerably because the packaged food in a plastic container is useful to prevent attaching microorganisms. However, a fresh food, e.g., a salad or sashimi, cannot be sterilized by thermal sterilization. Therefore, we are studying sterilization methods for packaged fresh foods, such as packed salads. In this study, we have investigated the applicable probability of the sterilization method using cold plasma applied to the packaged fresh food. Especially, we have investigated the probability of the sterilization of microorganisms living in a small hollow between the overlapped fresh foods. A plastic petri dish with a lid was used for simulating the plastic container. The cold plasma was applied into the petri dish by a barrier discharge generated by a pulsed voltage. E. coli was used for a target of sterilization. The E. coli was set on a culture agar medium instead of the salad. The experimental results showed that the sterilization method combining the plastic film and cold plasma of the barrier discharge generated by the pulsed voltage is applicable to sterilize microorganisms living in the hollow between the overlapped fresh foods for the packaged fresh food.

The spatial-temporal coupling pattern of grain yield and fertilization in the North China plain

CONTEXTKnowing the spatial-temporal relationship of historical grain yield and fertilization in various regions provides a solid base for promoting rational fertilization strategies. However, the interaction pattern between grain yield and fertilization over large areas and long time periods from the spatial-temporal coupling perspective has been rarely explored. OBJECTIVEThis study focused on the spatial-temporal coupling pattern of grain yield and fertilization in the North China Plain to propose reasonable fertilization strategies referring to practical experience and to increase grain yield while preserving the agricultural system. METHODSUsing the North China Plain as an example, we applied a method integrating global spatial autocorrelation, geographically weighted regression, and geodetector to reveal the spatial-temporal coupling relationship between grain yield and fertilization based on data from 1990 to 2015. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSGrain yield consistently increased but differed significantly among prefecture-level cities. Of cities with a rice, wheat, and corn yield, 49.09%, 45.46% and 47.27%, respectively, were below the average in the North China Plain. The application rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers first increased and then decreased, especially N fertilizer. The N:P2O5:K2O ratio developed from 1:0.31:0.08 to 1:0.38:0.22. The cities' application rates of N, P, and K fertilizer were 49.09%, 54.55%, and 63.64% lower than the average in the North China Plain, respectively. The effects of N, P, and K fertilizers on rice, wheat, and corn yields differed significantly among cities and along with time changing. The combined application of N fertilizer with P or K fertilizer was better than that of a single fertilizer, depending on the crop. The uneven regional grain yield and fertilization in the North China Plain indicated that a significant increase in grain production can be achieved by promoting grain yield in low-yielding areas through regionally balanced fertilization. For this purpose, an enhanced formulated fertilization strategy based on on-site and time-specific soil testing should be applied, considering the crop variety, climate, and irrigation. SIGNIFICANCEThis paper highlights the significance of formulating reasonable fertilization strategies through understanding spatial-temporal patterns between fertilization and grain yield. Our findings emphasize the importance of rationally balanced fertilization based on on-site and time-specific soil testing; such a strategy could be beneficial for securing food safety while maintaining the sustainability of the agriculture system.

Food Quality in the European Union: Does the Consumer Have Free Choice?

While it is a consumer’s prerogative to be offered all kinds of food products they can choose from, it is also a consumer’s own responsibility as to what kind of products they choose. It is still argued that free choice is only an illusion due to the general decline in food quality; in this context, the extent of free choice that the consumer has is considered, as well as the factors affecting it. These include fundamental European Union principles that demand strong science to prove safety, observe the lowest applicable quality standards and by extent offer a wide leniency range to food manufacturers when it comes to food quality. Another main factor stems from a food law that intensely focuses on securing food safety, while somehow disregarding quality. In addition to that, major efforts have been concentrated on strengthening food information for the purpose of enabling consumers to make healthier choices by both simplifying information on the front of packaging and increasing it on the back, while no direct changes targeting the composition of food have been proposed. As a result, what healthy food choices are left on the market and how accessible are they to consumers?

Biocontrol Effect of Lytic Bacteriophages Against Various Food borne Diseases

Food borne disease is one of the major causes of hospitalization and death around the world. Many advance antimicrobial techniques, food sanitation techniques are present nowadays but still Food borne diseases are become more serious day by day. Some traditional well known antimicrobial methods including chemical treatment, pasteurization, high pressure processing, and irradiation are some popular techniques to control bacteria causing Foodborne diseases but they have several drawbacks like high cost, machine and processing equipment damage, damage nutritive value and organoleptic properties of foods and more importantly adverse effect on health. In this situation most promising and safe technique is biocontrol method. The interest for natural antimicrobial agent has exhibited due to consumer awareness towards the use of chemical based pathogen control methods or preservatives in food processing sectors. Use of bacteriophage is one of the most useful and promising natural biocontrol methods that targets specific strains of bacteria and kill the specific bacterial cell (or inhibit bacterial cell count). Bacteriophages can control foodborne disease outbreaks and ensure food safety by four different stages including therapy, biocontrol, biosanitation, and preservation. Bacteriophages are easily available in the environment and can be used safely in various foods ranging from fresh fruits, perishable animal product, and vegetables to ready-to-eat food products for bacterial decontamination. Approved commercial bacteriophages are also available to ensure food safety. bacteriophage biocontrol is recently recognized as an alternative method to reducing pathogenic bacteria from foods naturally and secure food safety. This review work is a brief overview of current bacteriophage related work in the field of foodborne diseases and food safety.

Present and pioneer methods of early detection of food borne pathogens.

Food-borne pathogens are a severe threat to human illness and death world-wide. Researchers have reported more than 250 food-borne diseases. Most of these are infections caused by a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites. It has a significant economic impact also. Detection of pathogenic microbes is thus essential for food safety. Such identification techniques could meet the following parameters viz., the accuracy of detection techniques that are quick, efficient, economical, highly sensitive, specific, and non-labor intensive. The various available methods for detecting food pathogens are classified into different groups, each having its advantages and disadvantages. The conventional methods are usually the first choice of detection even though they are laborious. Modern techniques such as biosensors, immunological assays, and macromolecule-based (nucleic acid) methods are being developed and refined to overcome traditional methods' limitations. Early detection of pathogens and secure food safety at each stage of food processing to storage, utilizing improved methodologies are mandatory. This review summarizes the deadly food pathogens leading to significant outbreaks and discusses the importance of early detection methods and advanced detection methods in comparison.

Combinatorial treatment using citric acid, malic acid, and phytic acid for synergistical inactivation of foodborne pathogenic bacteria

Inorganic germicides, such as chlorine and its derivatives, are widely used against surface pathogens in various food industries. Due to the potential toxicity of the disinfectants and their by-products, alternative and dosage-efficient methods should be developed to secure food safety and hygiene. Here, we present a natural organic acid-based combinatorial treatment that efficiently inactivated the selected foodborne pathogenic bacterial strains even at low concentration. The individual and/or combinatorial treatments of citric (CA), malic (MA), and phytic acid (PA) inactivated Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in concentration- and time-dependent fashion. At one selected concentration, the mixture of acids (CA+MA+PA) efficiently reduced E. coli and S. aureus viability by approximately 99.9% within 10 min. The combined application of three organic acids resulted in higher germicidal activity than the sum of the individual treatment inactivation levels, suggesting a synergistic effect among the acids. Our combined acid treatment disrupted bacterial membrane integrity and increased the intracellular reactive oxygen species. The inactivation efficiency of the presented organic acid mixture was also verified for Salmonella Typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Listeria monocytogenes. In conclusion, we established a composition of natural acid-based mixture, allowing efficient surface disinfection against various Gram-positive and negative pathogenic bacteria through a synergistic effect mechanism.

A Systematic Review on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) in Southeast Asia Countries

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a food safety management system which has beenrecognised as an essential tool in securing food safety. This systematic review aims to assess the currentsituation and compliance of HACCP system in Southeast Asia as well as the challenges that influence thecompliance of the system. Three electronic databases were used for search, which is Science Direct, Scopusand Web of Science. The terms used in the search include food safety, Hazard Analysis Critical ControlPoint (HACCP), hazard analysis, critical control point and food industry. Fifteen articles met the criteriafor inclusion in the review. Five studies were conducted in Thailand, three in Malaysia and Indonesia, andtwo in the Philippines and Vietnam. This review found that there are certain motives for the application ofHACCP, and most of the reviewed studies comply with the HACCP principle accordingly.

Biochar as a Soil Ameliorant: How Biochar Properties Benefit Soil Fertility—A Review

In recent years, biochar has received great attention among researchers worldwide. This carbon-rich material, mainly produced from residues from agriculture and forestry, holds a wide range of properties, e.g. large specific surface area, high cation exchange capacity, and substantial nutrient contents, that can have beneficial effects when added to soils. This review is giving a brief introduction to biochar properties and how feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, and time influence these properties. As the majority of studies concentrate on the soil amending effects of biochar, this review also provides an overview of how biochar affects the chemical, physical, hydrological, and biological properties of soils. For example, biochar addition to soils can raise the pH, increase the organic carbon content, enhance nutrient retention, foster porosity, augment the water-holding capacity, and increase microbial biomass. Consequently, biochar can contribute to soil fertility, increase yields, help closing nutrient cycles, and thus help secure food safety in a region. However, the knowledge about the long-term effects is still limited and should be broadened by a more systematic testing of biochar effects in the future to help bring the benefits of biochar into practice.

Cadmium, silicon and nutrient accumulation by maize plants grown on a contaminated soil amended with a diatomaceous Earth fertilizer

ABSTRACT: Given that cadmium (Cd) poses high persistence in the environment and toxicity to humans, strategies to either decrease or avoid Cd entry in the trophic chain are fundamental to secure food safety. Here we assessed the effects of applying rates of Si as a diatomaceous Earth-based fertilizer on the amelioration of Cd toxicity towards maize plants grown on soil with or without pH correction. Besides determining Si and Cd concentrations, we also evaluated plant accumulation of nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn) as a function of Si doses applied to the soil. Results showed that both the Si application and the liming had a positive effect on biomass and nutrient uptake, but the Si effect on plants’ performance took place irrespectively to the soil pH. Silicon ameliorated Cd phytotoxicity in both limed and unlimed soils by decreasing Cd concentration in shoots and improving biomass yield and plant nutrition. Silicon alleviation of Cd-inhibitory effects on plants was more effective in the unlimed soil owing to the higher Cd availability in acidic soils. Also, taking into account the reduced transfer of Cd to shoots driven by Si, lower Cd accumulation in maize grains is likely, with implications to food safety. So, further studies on field conditions are warranted.

Evaluation of The Nutritional Quality of Kuli-kuli (Peanut cake) Produced from Melon seeds and Groundnut.

In the bid to enhance human health and secure food safety as well as public health enlightenment to food, there is the need to evaluate the Nutritional quality of Kuli-kuli from melon seeds. Kuli-kuli which is majorly produced from groundnut is one of the major snacks consumed by most Nigerians especially in the North.The use of melon seeds in the production of Kuli-kuli is not known. Therefore, this research work was carriedout to produce and evaluate the nutrient of Kuli-kuli produced from Melon seeds. Sensory evaluation showed that the Kuli-kuli produced from melon seeds varied in appearance, aroma, texture, taste, and acceptability.

(Invited) Rapid and Robust Discrimination of Food-Contaminating Microorganisms Guided By Machine Learning

Interests in safety and security of foods are more growing than ever with rising global populations. Manufacturing processes for food production need to be strictly managed to exclude the possible contamination by toxic microorganisms including bacteria and fungi. Upon occurrence of microbial contamination, the species of the contaminating microorganisms should be rapidly discriminated to limit further expansion of contamination. Pre-testing of microbial contamination of food ingredients prior to manufacturing processes is also carried out to ensure that specific toxic microorganisms are not detected from the ingredients. Conventionally, sequencing of the barcode regions in the microbial genomes including the genes encoding 16S and 18S rRNA (for prokaryotes and eukaryotes, respectively) has been widely employed for microbial discrimination. More recently, matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS)-based discrimination method emerged. However, these approaches have several drawbacks such as requirements of expensive equipment, highly skilled operators, and relatively long assay time for several days. Therefore, it is not easy to employ these methods in food manufacturers, majorities of which are small-sized companies. To address this issue, we have developed a novel bioimaging-based approach for discrimination of bacteria and fungi, termed “colony fingerprinting”. In colony fingerprinting, bacterial or fungal colonies were formed on transparent agar media. The colonies were irradiated by light emitting diode (LED), and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors are used to detect the light penetrating or dispersed by the colonies which generate microbial species-specific optical patterns, termed “colony fingerprints”. We extracted a number of discriminative parameters representing the features of morphology and intensity-distribution of the colony fingerprints with the aid of bioimage informatics tools. Discrimination of microbial species were carried out by machine learning-based analyses of the extracted parameters. As a proof-of-concept study, we developed a colony fingerprinting platform consisting of a CMOS image sensor (pixel size: 3.2 μm, imaging area: 6.55 × 4.92 mm2), pinhole, and blue LED. Colonies of 5 closely related Staphylococcus spp. (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S. saprophyticus, and S. simulans) were visualized, and 14 types of discriminative parameters such as roundness, solidity, Zernike moment, and image entropy were extracted using MATLAB software. Simple linear discrimination analysis (LDA) using the 14 parameters classified the 25 colony fingerprints of 5 Staphylococcus spp. (a total of 125 colony fingerprints) into correct species with 79.4% accuracy. Further analyses with powerful machine learning approaches including artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF) resulted in the accuracies of 99.2%, 98.4%, and 100.0%, respectively. It was possible to obtain the colony fingerprints used for discrimination within 11 h on average. This result suggests that colony fingerprinting is promising for accurate and rapid discrimination of closely related bacterial species. We successfully demonstrated the discrimination of 20 bacterial species (5 gram-negative and 15 gram-positive bacteria) based on colony fingerprinting by employing up to 65 discrimination parameters obtained by a size-dependent manner. Therefore, accumulation of discriminative parameters could be useful to improve the discrimination accuracy.Besides bacteria, fungi are another major cause of food contamination. However, colony fingerprinting-based discrimination of fungi is challenging because fungi extend the hyphae (fungal filaments) to random directions, and branch them at arbitrary positions. These morphological features are much different from bacterial colonies. Therefore, the discriminative parameters employed for bacterial discrimination were not applicable, and a novel set of parameters need to be developed. Given the growth features of fungal colonies, we computed the number of hyphae and their branches, and intensity distribution on the images as discrimination parameters. As a result of SVM- and RF-based analyses with 7 types of parameters, 6 closely-related Aspergillus spp. were distinguished with 95% and 100%, respectively. Discrimination of fungi based on colony fingerprinting was completed within 48 h, which was shorter than time required by conventional fugal discrimination methods including MALDI-TOF-MS, Raman spectrometry and FTIR spectrometry.Given the promising features of colony fingerprinting, we newly developed a practicable platform for colony fingerprinting which equips a line imaging sensor with scanning system enabling the visualization of a number of culture plates, leading to high throughput analysis. We examined accuracy and robustness of colony fingerprinting-based bacterial discrimination by changing the colony formation conditions such as temperatures and cell densities on the culture plates.In summary, discrimination of microorganisms was successfully demonstrated with the machine learning-guided colony fingerprinting. In the future study, development of the colony fingerprint library with hundreds of microbial species will make this rapid and robust system a powerful tool to secure food safety.