Bioaerosols and Food Safety: Smart Tech to Protect Your Fresh Produce

Bioaerosols are microscopic airborne particles made up of living—or once-living—organisms. They come from places like soil, water, and sewage, and can travel through wind turbulence and storms, even across long distances.

Produce is often eaten raw or lightly washed, so there's no “kill step” to eliminate microbes. If bioaerosols settle on produce, they can carry pathogens—potentially making people sick.

Researchers—led by Dr. Mohit Verma at Purdue University—are at the forefront of developing low-cost, user-friendly biosensors. These devices act as early-warning systems in the field, detecting contamination quickly (often in real time) so farmers can act fast.

One key approach uses Bacteroidales, which are abundant in feces and highly specific to the host. They serve as reliable markers for recent fecal contamination—even when harmful pathogens are present in tiny, hard-to-detect amounts.

• Faster responses, smarter decisions. Growers can adjust their harvest plans if contamination risks are detected early.
• Targeted interventions. Instead of blanket treatments, then can apply measures precisely where needed.
• Better documentation. These tools help maintain compliance with safety regulations like the FDA’s FSMA standards.

In essence, these biosensors help growers shift from reactive safety checks to a preventive, risk-based strategy.

While these biosensors are not replacements for pathogen testing, they complement it by acting as a first line of defense—alerting producers to potential issues when they matter most.

Imagine a lettuce grower using a handheld device in the field and receiving an alert: “Possible contamination in Section B.” That prompt could mean delaying harvest, running extra sanitization, or keeping office staff out of that zone until it's cleared. These simple yet powerful actions can protect both public health and produce quality.