New Nanotech Foodborne Pathogen Detection

CodeWanker writes "Scientific American is reporting that scientists in China have developed a better, faster way to screen foodstuffs for infectious agent contamination. Bind antibodies to flourescent silica bits, mix with your hamburger, and turn on the black lights. Hilarity ensues."

Comments

China?

[allden]

Is University of Florida in China?

Health and Safety

[reyalsnogard]

Okay, so it is now physically possible to detect E.coli -- the leading cause of food poisoning -- accurately and in under twenty minutes, but

• how

will this retard mishandled food during preparation? (e.g. chefs who don't wash their hands) Shall happy meals now come w/ crank-powered blacklights?

Allergies...!?

[CompSurfer]

I wonder if this could be applied to use as an allergen detector for people with food allergies. As a person with peanut and nut allergies, it would be quite handy.

Re:Field testing

[Billy the Mountain]

Very useful. I think simple test kits can be made - much like the pregnancy test strips - for consumers to check all kinds of stuff. ("Test your partner within 20 minutes")

Except for one detail. Some contaminents can be harmful in small amounts and may be invisible to the unaided eye even when tagged. As I recall from a stint working in public health, people can easily get sick when food is contaminated with a very few organisms of E. Coli 0157:H7, So those test strips should, at the very least, come with a really high powered Cap'n Crunch magnifying lens.

BTM