IT16. Applications of bio-sensors in agri-food industry and mitigation of bio-threat paradigm

Summary form only given. The agri-food market the world over has increased biological, chemical and physical threats to food products, triggering a bigger consumer demand on process control, quality and safety of these products. Bio-sensors can play a vital role in the agricultural and food sectors to control production processes and ensure greater food quality and safety by reliable, fast and cost effective monitoring procedures. Bio-sensors are promising alternatives to conventional analytical tools since they offer advantages in size, cost, specificity, rapid response, precision and sensitivity. Each step in the agricultural and food production chain is susceptible to myriad threats in terms of loss of quality and transmission of diseases. These biological, chemical and / or physical threats can emanate from environmental contamination or failures during food handling, processing, packaging and distribution. Bio-sensors can detect, analyse and quantify molecules of different biological origins and throw light on the quality of food or agri-material in terms of their spiking with pesticides, fertilizers and dioxins residues, in addition to providing information on contaminated water and soil residues, genetically modified organisms, pathogenic microorganisms and their toxins, and food components such as antinutrients, allergens, drugs, additives, and hydrocarbons. Biosensors are also useful for the evaluation of food composition that undergo transformation during post-harvest operations and processing. Biosensors enable real time monitoring of variables such as pH, temperature, pressure, oxygen, flow and volatile substances. Biosensors can also play a useful role in the implementation of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) plans by detection of food borne pathogens and chemical contaminants. Suitably developed and designed biosensors can effectively screen air, water, soil, food, fresh and waste plant and animal agro-material for mitigation of bio-threat paradigm also by rapid detection of pathogenic microbes. Biosensors enable capturing of genetic signatures of various bio-pathogens and their toxic metabolites, that can pose a potential threat to human health and well being during outbreak of any unfortunate biological warfare (BW).