Sensor to detect harmful bacteria in milk hailed as a world first

Scientists from Tyndall National Institute and Teagasc say their plans for a sensor which detects spore-forming bacteria in milk is a world first and is expected to re," she addedlutionise quality monitoring in the global dairy industry.

The harmful bacteria cause food poisoning and they can survive pasteurisation. Currently it takes days of laboratory analysis before their presence is definitively confirmed.

This hand-held bio-sensor will produce results in minutes, according to Dr Karen Twomey of Cork's Tyndall National Institute. The research scientist is leading the project, which is being co-ordinated by Teagasc's Dr Phil Kelly.

Dr Twomey said there was no such device on the market but many research groups had attempted to develop devices.

“It’s only with advances in ICT [information communication technology] that we can finally take this technology out of the lab and deploy it at the dairy processing units,” she said. “This bio-sensor has the potential to become an essential component of the dairy manufacturing process all over the world. Early detection is key and the bio-sensor will enable producers to take preventative measures at earlier stages thus preventing unnecessary wastage.”

The project has received €625,000 from the Department of Agriculture’s food institution research measure. The bio-sensor will be important to Ireland’s dairy sector, which provides milk for between 10 and 15 per cent of world’s infant milk formula. That level of production is expected to increase when the milk quota regime is abolished in less than two weeks.

Farmers plan to increase milk production by 50 per cent by 2020 and most of this milk will be exported as dairy ingredients and products.

Dr Twomey said the technology was “incredibly flexible” and could be modified to detect a range of other bodies, including pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes and residues such as mycotoxins.

This meant it could be used “across other areas of the food industry and other sectors such as environment, security and medical to name but a few.

“This is currently the only research of its kind taking place so we have a real opportunity to create an important tool that will not only benefit businesses but also consumers all over the world.”

Dr Twomey said the project would take four years but she believed the device could become available before then as the scientists were building on more than 12 years of expertise from their collaborative projects. She expected the device would be very cost-competitive because the manufacturing process meant it would be able to provide large volumes at relatively low cost.