Researchers create contamination test for dairy products, using technology that can be printed inside containers

Researchers at McMaster University, with support provided by Toyota Tsusho Canada, Inc., have proven a method that will allow producers, packagers and retailers to detect bacterial contamination in milk products simply by reading a signal from a test printed inside every container.

The technology can be adapted to detect the most common food pathogens and is also expected to be effective for use with other foods and beverages. Once it becomes widely available, the McMaster and Toyota Tsusho hope it will make the food supply safer and significantly reduce food waste.

The test in its current form works by isolating even trace amounts of infectious bacteria in milk products – a technical challenge that until now has been difficult to manage.

"Milk is a very rich environment whose complex biology can mask the presence of pathogens, making it hard to find them," explains Tohid Didar, a Canada Research Chair in the McMaster School of Biomedical Engineering and an author on the paper. "In terms of the technical challenge, it's similar to blood."

The test works by printing the inner surface of a container with a tasteless, food-safe patch that repels everything but the target organisms, using a biosensor that triggers a change in the patch when such organisms are detected.