A Novel Application of B.EL.D™ Technology: Biosensor-Based Detection of Salmonella spp. in Food

The prevalence of foodborne diseases is continuously increasing, causing numerous hospitalizations and deaths, as well as money loss in the agri-food sector and food supply chain worldwide. The standard analyses currently used for bacteria detection have significant limitations with the most important being their long procedural time that can be crucial for foodborne outbreaks. In this study, a biosensor system able to perform robust and accurate detection of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. in meat products was developed. To achieve this, a portable device developed by EMBIO Diagnostics called B.EL.D^TM (Bio Electric Diagnostics) and cell-based biosensor technology (BERA) were used. Results indicated that the new method could detect the pathogen within 24 h after a 3-min analysis and discriminate samples with and without <i>Salmonella</i> with high accuracy. Achieving an accuracy of 86.1% and a detection limit (LOD) of 1 log CFU g^-1, this innovative technology enables rapid and sensitive identification of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. in meat and meat products, making it an excellent tool for pathogen screening.