FDA Announces Its Food Safety Challenge Finalists

By Melissa Lind, contributing writer

The FDA’s Food Safety Challenge, a competition tasking members of the food industry to develop technologies to detect foodborne pathogens, now has five finalists out of nearly 50 total submissions. Here is what the finalists are bringing to the table.

The cost of foodborne illness in the U.S. has been estimated at $77 billion per year in terms overall impact. Salmonella is the leading cause of serious food related illnesses resulting in hospitalization or death. To help combat this, last September, the FDA announced its first-ever  Food Safety Challenge, intended to foster the development of innovative technologies that would protect the food supply by more-quickly detecting pathogens in produce.

The agency invited participants from all disciplines — academics, scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators — to compete in this first-ever competition. Almost 50 submissions were received, but only five finalists remain in the running. Advancing to the next phase of competition are:

Auburn University — introduced a detection method combining magnetoelastic biosensors and a detector to scan food services for foodborne pathogens.

Pronucleotein Inc. — suggested the use of DNA aptamer-magnetic beads to detect foodborne pathogens using a handheld reader.

Purdue University— introduced a physical means to concentrate Salmonella to detectable levels with automated microfiltration.

Dr. Bart Weimer Of The University Of California-Davis Partnered With Mars Inc. — introduced the idea of seizing Salmonella from samples using antibodies and host receptors for detection with solid phase ELISA, DNA, and RNA.

University Of Illinois And Purdue University — suggested using a portable system for detecting foodborne pathogens in microfluidic biochips through isothermal DNA amplification and electrical detection.

Each finalist will receive $20,000 and will enter the next phase of the Challenge. The winner(s) of the competition will receive the remaining $400,000, which will be split in the case of more than one winner.

The FDA initiated the Challenge to engage problem-solvers in the food industry with academia, science, and innovative companies who may see foodborne illness in a different way. It was believed that drawing different disciplines together may result in the development of technologies from areas that had not been previously considered.

During the next phase, the expert judges from the FDA, CDC, and USDA will challenge finalists to improve their concepts. The final phase is known as the “Field Accelerator” phase and with the guidance of FDA, experts in food safety, and pathogen-testing, finalists will be asked to refine submissions and clarify concepts. The final submissions will be expected to be able to reasonably execute and will need to be within the FDA’s needs and capabilities for implementation. Final proposals will be presented on “Demo Day” in July to the panel of judges and a live audience at the agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition headquarters.