GINER INC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase II: 8.5

Description

Despite an extensive system of inspections and regulatory requirements for good sanitarypractices food poisoning due to bacterial contamination remains a significant issue. Manydifferent disease-causing microbes or pathogens can contaminate foods and lead to foodborneillnesses. Every year as many as one in six Americans experiences a foodborne illness. There isan ongoing need in the food industry for a better means of killing foodborne pathogens leading toprevention of food contamination by controlling bacterial counts in meat fruits and vegetablesdairy and seafood products.The overall objective of this project is to develop BacMOXâ„¢ system to demonstrate an effectiveportable and user-friendly process for microbial decontamination of animal carcasses to reducethe microbial load of fresh meat and produce without the use of expendable reagents.Phase Ishowed very promising results for antibacterial decontamination achieving >6 log reduction of E.coli and S. aureus inoculated on chicken rinsate and RTE meat surfaces. Phase II will addressfurther development and refinement of the technology as well as prototype development alongwith extensive evaluation. A complete BacMOXâ„¢ field deployable prototype will be fabricatedand packaged for testing and usability assessment by experienced scientists in food quality andpackaging.Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications:The longevity profitability and sustainability of meat poultry and produce industries will benefitfrom such a technology by preventing foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls.This technologysuitably addresses the USDA's goals for providing sustainable solutions for a decontaminationsystem that effectively eliminates the risks associated with pathogen threats without producingadditional ecological risks during the decontamination process. This approach has the potential foruse in the full spectrum of food processing facilities with minimal financial space and laborresource investments.