Biosensors for Food Quality and Safety Detection

A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental, Agricultural, and Food Biosensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 1049

Special Issue Editor

College of Horticulture & Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: SERS detection of harmful substrances in food
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food quality and safety are vital to public health and industrial development. Traditional detection technologies currently face limitations such as low efficiency and insufficient sensitivity, making it imperative to adopt efficient and precise detection methods. This Special Issue focuses on the innovation and application of biosensor technology in food quality and safety testing, covering core areas including the development of novel biosensor materials, optimization of sensor structure design, and intelligent upgrading of detection methods. It addresses testing scenarios across all categories, from agricultural products and processed foods to cold-chain foods. We welcome original research papers, reviews, and technical briefs, including but not limited to applications of biosensors in detecting food contaminants (pesticide residues, heavy metals, microorganisms), analyzing nutritional components, assessing freshness, and related achievements in the industrialization of sensing technologies.

Dr. De Zhang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biosensors
  • food quality and safety
  • rapid detection methods
  • sensor materials
  • sensor mechanism analysis

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1508 KB  
Article
Establishment and Validation of a Rapid ERA Detection Method for Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Exported Aquatic Products
by Ying Liang, Jiahua Wang, Yufeng Wang and Feng Xue
Biosensors 2026, 16(3), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16030176 - 21 Mar 2026
Viewed by 301
Abstract
To address the issues of operational complexity, long duration association, and reliance on specialized equipment with existing detection methods for Vibrio parahaemolyticus, this study established a rapid detection method for V. parahaemolyticus in exported aquatic products based on the domestically developed Enzymatic [...] Read more.
To address the issues of operational complexity, long duration association, and reliance on specialized equipment with existing detection methods for Vibrio parahaemolyticus, this study established a rapid detection method for V. parahaemolyticus in exported aquatic products based on the domestically developed Enzymatic Recombinase Amplification (ERA) technology. To target the thermolabile hemolysin gene (tlh) and the iron-regulated virulence regulatory protein gene (irgB) of V. parahaemolyticus, highly specific ERA primers and probes were designed and screened. Two detection platforms, a colorimetric method and a fluorescent method, were developed. Method validation results showed that this detection system achieved specific amplification for all 30 tested V. parahaemolyticus strains, with no cross-reactivity observed with 30 other common foodborne pathogenic bacteria. The detection sensitivity for both the fluorescent and colorimetric methods reached 10−1 ng/μL, with a minimum detection limit of 10 CFU/25 g for artificially contaminated samples. The entire detection process, including sample preparation, requires only approximately 20 min—significantly faster than traditional culture (24–72 h) or even conventional PCR methods. Collaborative validation across five independent laboratories confirmed excellent reproducibility, with inter-laboratory agreement yielding a Kappa coefficient of 0.98. The ERA method operates at a low, constant temperature (37–39 °C), eliminating the need for thermal cyclers. When combined with portable isothermal amplification devices and visual (colorimetric) readout, it offers a distinct advantage in terms of speed, cost-effectiveness, and suitability for resource-limited or field settings compared to existing PCR-based or culture-based platforms. This method is simple to operate, rapid, sensitive, and highly suitable for on-site application, providing a reliable and practical technical solution for the rapid screening and risk monitoring of V. parahaemolyticus in exported aquatic products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors for Food Quality and Safety Detection)
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17 pages, 3670 KB  
Article
Duplex Recombinase-Aided Amplification–Lateral Flow Dipstick (dRAA-LFD) Assay for New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussel Authentication
by Jirakrit Saetang, Maturada Saengthong, Soottawat Benjakul and Gururaj Moorthy
Biosensors 2026, 16(3), 138; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16030138 - 27 Feb 2026
Viewed by 509
Abstract
New Zealand green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) is a premium seafood product that may be substituted with morphologically similar mussels after shucking and cooking, particularly Asian green mussel (Perna viridis). This study developed a rapid, on-site duplex recombinase-aided amplification–lateral flow [...] Read more.
New Zealand green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) is a premium seafood product that may be substituted with morphologically similar mussels after shucking and cooking, particularly Asian green mussel (Perna viridis). This study developed a rapid, on-site duplex recombinase-aided amplification–lateral flow dipstick (dRAA–LFD) assay to authenticate P. canaliculus and differentiate it from P. viridis. Species-specific primers were designed from mitochondrial COI alignment and combined in a dRAA reaction. Reaction conditions were optimized at 37–42 °C and 15–60 min. Specificity was assessed against 11 non-target seafood species, and sensitivity was evaluated using 2-fold serial dilutions. The assay was further validated using DNA from boiled (85 °C, 5–15 min), steamed (105 °C, 10–30 min), and fried (185 °C, 30–90 s) mussels, and 15 restaurant products labeled as New Zealand mussel dishes. Optimal performance was achieved at 40 °C for 30 min, with no cross-reactivity. The LFD detection limits were 0.05 ng/reaction for P. viridis and 0.2–0.1 ng/reaction for P. canaliculus. All cooked samples remained identifiable, and commercial testing classified 13/15 products as P. canaliculus and 2/15 as P. viridis. Overall, the dRAA–LFD assay enables rapid, equipment-light authentication of cooked mussel products for routine screening. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors for Food Quality and Safety Detection)
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