Current and emerging molecular diagnostic technologies applicable to bacterial food safety

There is an increasing need for rapid test methods to certify the quality and safety of food products. Current tests applied for the microbiological assessment of food products are based on standard approved culture-based isolation methods and can take several days to yield results. Nucleic acid diagnostic (NAD) tests for the identification of bacterial foodborne pathogens employing in vitro amplification technologies are capable of sensitive and specific detection of single or multiple pathogens in foods in a shorter timeframe than traditional methods. New developments in molecular biosensors have the potential to provide at-line bioanalysis, whereas microarray-based technologies may in the future be the NAD platforms of choice for multiple pathogen detection and identification. This article reviews current and emerging NAD platforms for foodborne bacterial pathogens that have the potential to impact food safety.