Nanobiotechnology for the detection of food-borne pathogens

A study in 2011 estimated that in the United States between the years 2000 and 2008, 9.4 million episodes of food-borne illness were caused by 31 major pathogens resulting in 55,961 hospitalizations and 1,351 deaths (Scallan et al. 2011). Similarly, in the European Union (EU), a total of 5,648 food-borne outbreaks were reported in 2011 resulting in 69,553 human cases, 7,125 hospitalizations, and 93 deaths (EFSA [European Food Safety Authority] 2013). This report also showed that in 2011 campylobacteriosis caused by the pathogen Campylobacter was the highest reported food-borne-related disease in humans (220,209 confirmed cases), followed by salmonellosis (95,548 confirmed cases), verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infection (9,485), and yersiniosis (7,017 confirmed cases). Listeria was seldom detected above the legal safety limit from ready-to-eat foods, resulting in only 1476 reported cases of listeriosis. Such statistics highlight the widespread prevalence of food-borne illness despite strict regulations governing food both at legislative and industrial levels. To protect public health, the monitoring for the presence of food-borne pathogens is critical, and EU commission regulation (EC) No. 2073/2005 sets maximum levels for certain contaminants in food, as summarized in Table 9.1.