Food safety is a national priority that affects every man, woman and child. As many as 76 million Americans become ill annually due to foodborne pathogens and toxins. Estimates indicate that as many as 5,200 of these individuals will die, with an additional 325,000 being hospitalized as a result of this exposure.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates the cost of foodborne illness to be up to $30 billion in direct medical expenses, lost productivity, health expenses annually. Of that amount, Salmonella and Campylobacter account for $1 billion in direct and indirect medical expenses. In addition to these costs to the public and the nation, the costs to industry of settling civil litigation due to foodborne disease can be immense. For example, the 1993 Jack-in-the-Box hamburger incident involving beef contaminated by E.coli 0157:H7 infected more than 600 individuals (mostly children), killed four children and resulted in lawsuit settlements of $126 million.
To address the needs of our state and nation, Auburn University commissioned the Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center in October 1999, and designated it as a University Peak of Excellence. With this identification came funding from the State of Alabama to initiate a systems engineering approach to identifying and performing the research needed to improve food safety.
At the core of the Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center are researchers from five Auburn University colleges: Agriculture, Engineering, Human Sciences, Sciences and Mathematics, and Veterinary Medicine. Our core researchers, along with the help of colleagues, staff and students from these and other disciplines, work together to address the need for next-generation sensors and information systems for the detection of food contamination, and rapid inventory and traceability of food products. To accomplish this, AUDFS is combining advances in the identification of foodborne illnesses and contaminants with the latest in biosensor technology. These efforts will ultimately lead to a system that monitors food products from production to consumption, thereby eliminating or reducing significantly the threat of foodborne bacteria, pathogens and toxins (i.e. Salmonella, E. coli, "mad-cow disease," et cetera) reaching our dinner tables and restaurants.
Center research is funded through several funding streams, including special university funding through the Peaks of Excellence program, federal agencies (including USDA, FDA and NSF), and food-related industries in the form of sponsored projects and industrial participation.
