Food safety has become a top priority in the industry as regulators attempt to crack down on contamination outbreaks. The company's Nano Bioluminescence Detection spray adds to the choices companies have in ensuring their products arrive safe for sale.
AgroMicron said the spray will be a low cost system that will readily identify a broad range of food related pathogens, such as common Salmonella and E-Coli.
The spray, when applied to a food or beverage will react with the pathogen strain and produce a visual glow for detection. It uses nanotechnology to detect the harmful bacteria.
The Nano Bioluminescence spray is being developed by researchers and scientists in Taiwan and the US under technology transfer laws. The company said it expects to release a product based on the technology later this year.
The company plans to use a small, luminescent protein molecule that has been modified so that it attaches itself to the surface of the target bacterium.
The process would work in a similar fashion to an immune system antibody, designed to lock on to a particular feature on the "coat" of the microbe. In this case the higher the number of connections between bacteria and molecules, the more intense the glow produced.
AgroMicron plans to design a easy spray application device so it can be widely used, especially in ocean freight containerised shipping. If the container is opened and a glow emanates from the food source, then a quarantine can be deployed immediately, the company stated.
The product is being developed to aid in detecting bioterrorism but it can be used in manufacturing plants and along the supply chain.