The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA’s NIFA) has awarded a three-year, $599,900 grant to researchers at the University of Georgia (UGA) to study the antimicrobial efficacy of blue light technology. The researchers, from both UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA’s Center for Food Safety, hope to deliver an affordable and sustainable method for ensuring food safety.
Despite industry efforts, foodborne illness outbreaks have yet to be significantly reduced. However, the emergence of low-cost light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has invigorated interest in blue light technology as a way to reduce environmental contamination. Antimicrobial blue light has shown promising results when used to disinfect hospital surfaces, but little research has been done on blue light’s possible antimicrobial applications in controlling foodborne pathogens.