With the consumption of raw vegetables on the rise because of their health benefits, foodborne illnesses are also increasing because raw foods are often not rinsed properly. Lili He, UMass Amherst food scientist, and her team, are developing a new method to instantly detect the presence of bacteria in your food.
UMass Amherst supports research on practical topics through its Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, whose Mass. Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) unit is devoted to funding faculty research in topics related to food, agriculture, nutrition, water, energy, and the environment. The Mass. Agricultural Experiment Station was founded in 1878. MAES is the Massachusetts partner in a national network of Experiment Stations, linked through its federal partner, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
View more Research That Matters videos
Transcript of Dr Lili He of UMass Amherst Designs Simple Way to Detect Foodborne Illness video:
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Natural raw vegetables are now more commonly eaten in the United States, because we promote their health benefits. But without properly washing before eating it, the instance of foodborne illness is rising. One in six Americans-- that's 50 million people-- encounter some foodborne illness every year. And 10 million of those happen at home.
A smartphone can be used to detect bacteria in food. First, we rinse the food, and add rinse water to a container with a microchip that will capture the harmful bacteria. Then we use a smartphone with a microscope adapter to take a photo of chip. If there is harmful bacteria, it will be shown as visible dots, to indicate that you may have, for example, salmonella or Listeria.
Before this invention, it could take two full days to know if harmful bacteria was present. With this cell phone based technology, the results are instant. You can discard food right away, and prevent illness. So after a natural disaster, this would be a big help to prevent contaminated food or water from being eaten. It would be great for first responders and home owners.
This is research that matters.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Credits: Donna Blackney UMass News & Media Relations, Video Producer/Manager; Elizabeth Wilda, UMass News & Media Relations, Video Producer/Director