Center for Food Safety Engineering
Welcome from the Center Director
The Center for Food Safety Engineering (CFSE) celebrates its seventh anniversary. Our collaboration with USDA-ARS Eastern Regional Research Laboratory continues to breed success and has led to 21 peer-reviewed research publications and 22 presentations and proceedings this year. Purdue and USDA-ARS scientists teamed up and presented a series of lectures for "Molecular Day" at Kansas State University's 27th annual Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology Workshop. This effort alone led to a series of 11 peer-reviewed manuscripts published in the March and June issues of the Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology.
Our scientists continue to work on technology platforms to improve microbial and chemical detection. Research is being done to develop detection systems for many bacterial pathogens, including Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and for chemical toxins like arsenite. We are utilizing different technologies to improve detection capabilities, including enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays, polymerase chain reactions, impedance-based microbiology, infrared spectroscopy, scanning microscopy, confocal Raman microscopy, bioluminescense, DNA/RNA probes, and bioreporter-based chemical sensors.
One of our most significant breakthroughs this year was the further development of the BActeria Rapid Detection using Optical scattering Technology, or BARDOT system. This technology uses optical forward scattering techniques to identify different microorganisms after scanning colonies that grow on an agar surface. The resulting image produces a "fingerprint" that can be used to specifically identify organisms of interest.
I continue to be impressed with the collaborative research effort of Purdue University and USDA-ARS scientists and feel privileged to serve as director of the center. If you are interested in learning more about CFSE, please visit our Web site at www.cfse.purdue.edu, or feel free to contact me directly.
