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This study aims to demonstrate the potential use of reusable electrochemical sensor for detecting pork DNA in solution. The approach was based on electrochemical principle in which the electrostatic interaction between DNA and redox species will generate detectable signal upon introduction of electrical charge. In this study, Ruthenium Hexaamine (RuHex) was used as the redox species and result was based on the output current. Coupled with highly specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) primers designed for pork DNA, this study has successfully demonstrated the reliability of proposed novel detection approach that utilized reusable electrochemical sensor and can potentially be developed into a rapid detection tool for halal and kosher food industry.

Colorimetric biosensing is widely used in clinical diagnosis and environmental evaluation due to its simplicity and practicality. It has also recently become popular in food analysis. Nanotechnology is being integrated into the development of colorimetric biosensors to overcome the bottleneck of conventional colorimetric biosensing approaches. Innovative bionanotechnology-based colorimetric sensors have recently been developed. This chapter focuses on the progress of bionanotechnology-based colorimetric biosensors in food safety assessment. We also describe how nanomaterials can be integrated and tailored to meet the requirements of colorimetric biosensing systems for the detection of heavy metal cations, antibiotics, nucleic acids, and toxins/toxicants. Approaches described include functionalization of nanomaterials to act as colorimetric probes, carriers and enzyme mimetics. Selected examples of the most recent preliminary applications of bionanotechnology-based colorimetric biosensors in food safety assessment are given to illustrate the novel concepts and promising future applications. Future prospects for the application of bionanotechnology-based colorimetric biosensors in food safety assessment are also briefly discussed.