GINER INC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.4

Description

Pathogen-contaminated fresh produce is a major cause of several multistate foodborne diseaseoutbreaks. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains are common foodborne pathogens estimated tocause 265000 illnesses annually in the United States. While there are many sources ofcontamination in the produce supply chain contaminated agriculture water is an important vehiclefor transmission of foodborne pathogens. To address this safety risk the Food SafetyModernization Act (FSMA) sets a regulatory standard of less than 126 CFU per 100 mL ofirrigation water. However despite this new regulation outbreaks continue to occur because currentcell culture tests do not reliably detect E. coli O157 and other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains.In this Phase I Giner Inc. will develop a rapid and sensitive sensor for on-farm testing of E. coliO157 bacteria in irrigation water sources. The availability of this sensor technology will vastlyincrease the adoption of reliable E. coli O157 testing in the horticultural industry thus givingproduce growers and regulatory authority stakeholders an important tool to rapidly monitor themicrobiological quality of agricultural water and reduce the burden of E. coli disease outbreaksassociated with fresh produce consumption.