The food industry stands to save billions of dollars in storage costs with the commercialization of a device that detects bacteria and contaminants in food in significantly less time than traditional methods.

Angelo Gaitas, a research assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Florida International University, along with Gwangseong Kim, a research scientist, are in the midst of commercializing the device that would detect bacteria causing foodborne illnesses such as E. coli, salmonella and listeria.

Currently, the inspection process involves putting samples in a solution and then placing them in an incubator to determine if bacteria grow. Because it takes time for the bacteria to grow to detectable levels, the process can take anywhere from 18 hours to several days.

With the new device, the entire solution can be run through a smaller container inside the incubator where antibodies in the device capture the target bacteria. This allows bacteria to be concentrated in a smaller volume enabling same-day detection.

"We are focused on helping food producers reduce storage cost and get fresher food to consumers," Gaitas said. "We are addressing a major and well-documented need in a very large market. There are about 1.2 billion food tests conducted worldwide and about 220 million tests in the United States."

In addition to its use in detecting contaminants in food, the device can also be used to expedite the detection of blood borne illnesses such as sepsis and viral infections.