Contract for rapid detection method for bacterial pathogen detection

Background: The Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) programme is a UK Government Shared Outcomes Fund (SOF) research programme which aims to develop a national surveillance network, using the latest DNA-sequencing technology and environmental sampling to improve the detection and tracking of foodborne human pathogens and antimicrobial resistant microbes, through the whole agri-food system from farm-to-fork. The first phase of the PATH-SAFE programme ended on 31st March 2024. Further funding was secured for one year from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025. As part of recent PATH-SAFE work, led by Cefas, Foods Standards Scotland and the Environment Agency, a range of cutting-edge methods to screen shellfish for a wide repertoire of contaminants were developed. This project builds on the successes of the previous component of PATH-SAFE work, to help develop the next generation of environmental monitoring approaches for routine use. The outputs from this project will provide essential baseline data on the presence of antimicrobial resistance in this food commodity across the UK. Requirement: Cefas require a rapid bacterial detection technology in live bivalve shellfish to provide qualitative data, to correlate with microbiological culture and eDNA data for the assessment of water quality.