Advancing In Situ Food Monitoring through a Smart Lab‐in‐a‐Package System Demonstrated by the Detection of Salmonella in Whole Chicken

Abstract

With food production shifting away from traditional farm‐to‐table approaches to efficient multistep supply chains, the incidence of food contamination has increased. Consequently, pathogen testing via inefficient culture‐based methods has increased, despite its lack of real‐time capabilities and need for centralized facilities. While in situ pathogen detection would address these limitations and enable individual product monitoring, accurate detection within unprocessed, packaged food products without user manipulation has proven elusive. Herein, “Lab‐in‐a‐Package” is presented, a platform capable of sampling, concentrating, and detecting target pathogens within closed food packaging, without intervention. This system consists of a newly designed packaging tray and reagent‐infused membrane that can be paired universally with diverse pathogen sensors. The inclined food packaging tray maximizes fluid localization onto the sensing interface, while the membrane acts as a reagent‐immobilizing matrix and an antifouling barrier for the sensor. The platform is substantiated using a newly discovered Salmonella‐responsive nucleic acid probe, which enables hands‐free detection of 103 colony forming units (CFU) g−1 target pathogen in a packaged whole chicken. The platform remains effective when contamination is introduced with toolsand surfaces, ensuring widespread efficacy. Its real‐world use for in situ detection is simulated using a handheld fluorescence scanner with smartphone connectivity.

Comprehensive fluorescence profiles of contamination-prone foods applied to the design of microcontact-printed in situ functional oligonucleotide sensors

“…Recognizing that many food monitoring systems employ oligonucleotide probes, we immobilized fluorophore-labelled, single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides onto transparent polyethylene food wraps, which were then imaged with target food products 23 , 40 – 42 . To this end, DNA oligonucleotides labelled with Pacific Blue, FAM, Cy3, and Cy5 fluorophores—compatible with DAPI, FITC, TRITC, and Cy5 channels, respectively, were deposited onto the polymer substrate via microcontact printing.…”

Intelligent Biosensors Promise Smarter Solutions in Food Safety 4.0

“…It is Polymeric substrates, including biodegradable polymers, such as cellulose, starch, and chitosan, along with conventional plastics, such as polystyrene and polyethylene, play a pivotal role as fundamental materials in smart food packaging, primarily because of their cost-effectiveness and tunability [76]. Prasad et al [77] designed a packaging tray and a reagent-infused membrane to create a laboratory environment for packaging that can be universally paired with various pathogen sensors. This system allowed for the detection of target pathogens at 10 3 CFU/g in packaged whole chicken samples (Figure 7A).…”

Highly sensitive detection of Salmonella typhimurium via gold and magnetic nanoparticle-mediated sandwich hybridization coupled with ICP-MS

“…The World Health Organization has identified foodborne illness as an escalating global issue, with over 600 million cases annually, mainly caused by pathogen-contaminated food. 1 Salmonella typhimurium ( S. typhimurium ) is a major contributor to foodborne illness and a significant health hazard. 2 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlighted that S. typhimurium infections cause about 450 deaths and 23 000 hospitalizations each year in the USA, with associated direct medical costs amounting to $365 million.…”