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Article: Directly assess toxic behavior of contaminating bacteria.
- Article from:
- Microbial Update International
- Article date:
- December 1, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Food Technology Intelligence, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Part of the problem with conventional food safety testing done with DNA-based tests or antibody-based methods is that they only indicate the presence of specific bacteria, and do not necessarily describe toxicity and the potential to cause harm.
Microbiologists at Oregon State University have developed a new technique for detecting bacteria, made possible by fundamental research on the color changes in pigment-bearing cells from Siamese fighting fish. It should be easier to use, faster--from a few minutes to hours for detection--and more directly related to toxicity assessment than conventional approaches. Rapid methods are not readily available that directly ...