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The demand for fish protein continues to increase and currently accounts for 17% of total animal protein consumption by humans. About 90% of marine fish stocks are fished at or above maximum sustainable levels, with aquaculture propagating as one of the fastest growing food sectors to address some of this demand. Cell-cultivated seafood production is an alternative approach to produce nutritionally-complete seafood products to meet the growing demand. This cellular aquaculture approach offers a sustainable, climate resilient and ethical biotechnological approach as an alternative to conventional fishing and fish farming. Additional benefits include reduced antibiotic use and the absence of mercury. Cell-cultivated seafood also provides options for the fortification of fish meat with healthier compositions, such as omega-3 fatty acids and other beneficial nutrients through scaffold, media or cell approaches. This review addresses the biomaterials, production processes, tissue engineering approaches, processing, quality, safety, regulatory, and social aspects of cell-cultivated seafood, encompassing where we are today, as well as the road ahead. The goal is to provide a roadmap for the science and technology required to bring cellular aquaculture forward as a mainstream food source.
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Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EpETrEs) are bioactive lipid mediators of arachidonic acid cytochrome P450 oxidation. In vivo, the free (unbound) form of EpETrEs regulate multiple processes including blood flow, angiogenesis and inflammation resolution. Free EpETrEs are thought to rapidly degrade via soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH); yet, in many tissues, the majority of EpETrEs are esterified to complex lipids (e.g. phospholipids) suggesting that esterification may play a major role in regulating free, bioactive EpETrE levels. This hypothesis was tested by quantifying the metabolism of intraperitoneally injected free d11-11(12)-Epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (d11-11(12)-EpETrE) in male and female rats. Plasma and tissues (liver, adipose and brain) were obtained 3 to 4 min later and assayed for d11-11(12)-EpETrE and its sEH metabolite, d11-11,12-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid (d11-11,12-diHETrE) in both the free and esterified lipid fractions. In both males and females, the majority of injected tracer was recovered in liver followed by plasma and adipose. No tracer was detected in the brain, indicating that brain levels are maintained by endogenous synthesis from precursor fatty acids. In plasma, liver, and adipose, the majority (>54 %) of d11-11(12)-EpETrE was found esterified to phospholipids or neutral lipids (triglycerides and cholesteryl esters). sEH-derived d11-11,12-diHETrE was not detected in plasma or tissues, suggesting negligible conversion within the 3-4 min period post tracer injection. This study shows that esterification is the main pathway regulating free 11(12)-EpETrE levels in vivo.
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Given the expanding global population and finite resources, it is imperative to explore alternative technologies for food production. These technologies play a crucial role in ensuring the provision of safe, nutritious, and sustainable food options to meet the growing demand. Cellular agriculture plays an important in developing an alternative method for developing food products. While, cellular agriculture is emerging rapidly, food safety aspects and regulatory frameworks stayed behind. Despite developing several regulatory framework papers on cellular agriculture, there is no systematic approach for developing a comprehensive food safety plan (FSP), particularly for cultivated seafood. Thus, the overall goal of this article is to develop a FSP for cultivated seafood. The main differences between the food safety plan for cultivated seafood and the conventional seafood industries were the number of allergens in cultivated seafood products, including soy, wheat, and fish cells, compared to only fish for the conventional seafood industry. In addition, there are several hazards associated with mycoplasma in cultivated seafood, which should be considered. This guidance intends to help regulatory agencies, food safety experts, startup companies, and the cultivated seafood industry by providing a valuable platform to develop regulations, guidance, and food safety plans applicable to most cultivated seafood companies. This article will also help the industry to identify the hazards in their processing line and develop preventive controls, and as a comprehensive food safety plan, it could be easily adapted for other cultivated seafood products. This guidance applied systematic approaches to developing food safety plans using cell culture, pharmaceuticals, fermentation, seafood, meat, and aquaponics safety plans, collaborating with experts with different backgrounds, and working closely with the conventional and cultivated meat and seafood industries.
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Currently, there is limited knowledge on the survival of bacteria on surfaces during postharvest handling of dry products such as onions. Extended survival of microorganisms, coupled with a lack of established and regular, validated cleaning or sanitation methods could enable cross-contamination of these products. The aim of the study was to evaluate the survival of a potential surrogate, Enterococcus faecium, and Salmonella enterica on typical onion handling surfaces, polyurethane (PU), and stainless steel (SS), under low relative humidity. The influence of onion extract on the survival of E. faecium and Salmonella on PU and SS was also investigated. Rifampin-resistant E. faecium NRRL B-2354 and a five-strain cocktail of Salmonella suspended in 0.1% peptone or onion extract were separately inoculated onto PU and SS coupons (2 × 2 cm), at high, moderate, or low (7, 5, or 3 log CFU/cm2) levels. The inoculated surfaces were stored at â¼34% relative humidity and 21°C for up to 84 days. Triplicate samples were enumerated at regular intervals in replicate trials. Samples were enriched when populations fell below the limit of detection by plating (0.48 log CFU/cm2). Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the cell distribution on the coupons. Reductions of E. faecium of less than â¼2 log were observed on PU and SS over 12 weeks at all inoculum levels and with both inoculum carriers. In 0.1% peptone, Salmonella populations declined by 2 to 3 log over 12 weeks at the high and moderate inoculum levels; at the low inoculum level, Salmonella could not be recovered by enrichment at 84 days. Survival of E. faecium and Salmonella was significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced over 84 days of storage when suspended in onion extract, where cells were covered by a layer of onion extract. E. faecium might have utility as a conservative surrogate for Salmonella when evaluating microbial survival on dry food-contact surfaces.
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Contagem de Colônia Microbiana , Enterococcus faecium , Umidade , Salmonella enterica , Salmonella enterica/efeitos dos fármacos , Microbiologia de Alimentos , Contaminação de Alimentos/análise , Humanos , Cebolas/microbiologia , Aço InoxidávelRESUMO
Human milk provides bioactive compounds such as milk fat globules (MFGs), which promote brain development, modulate the immune system, and hold antimicrobial properties. To ensure microbiological safety, donor milk banks apply heat treatments. This study compares the effects of heat treatments and homogenization on MFG's physicochemical properties, bioactivity, and bioavailability. Vat pasteurization (Vat-PT), retort (RTR), and ultra-high temperature (UHT) were performed with or without homogenization. UHT, RTR, and homogenization increased the colloidal dispersion of globules, as indicated by increased zeta potential. The RTR treatment completely inactivated xanthine oxidase activity (a marker of MFG bioactivity), whereas UHT reduced its activity by 93%. Interestingly, Vat-PT resulted in less damage, with 28% activity retention. Sialic acid, an important compound for brain health, was unaffected by processing. Importantly, homogenization increased the in vitro lipolysis of MFG, suggesting that this treatment could increase the digestibility of MFG. In terms of color, homogenization led to higher L* values, indicating increased whiteness due to finer dispersion of the fat and casein micelles (and thus greater light scattering), whereas UHT and RTR increased b* values associated with Maillard reactions. This study highlights the nuanced effects of processing conditions on MFG properties, emphasizing the retention of native characteristics in Vat-PT-treated human milk.
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The growing concerns regarding foodborne illnesses related to fresh produce accentuate the necessity for innovative material solutions, particularly on surfaces that come into close contact with foods. This study introduces a sustainable, efficient, and removable antimicrobial and antifouling coating ideally suited for hydrophobic food-contact surfaces such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Developed through a crosslinking reaction involving tannic acid, gelatin, and soy protein hydrolysate, these coatings exhibit proper stability in aqueous washing solutions and effectively combat bacterial contamination and prevent biofilm formation. The unique surface architecture promotes the formation of halamine structures, enhancing antimicrobial efficacy with a rapid contact killing effect and reducing microbial contamination by up to 5 log10 cfu·cm-2 against both Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Listeria innocua (Gram-positive). Notably, the coatings are designed for at least five recharging cycles under mild conditions (pH6, 20 ppm free active chlorine) and can be easily removed with hot water or steam to refresh the depositions. This removal process not only conveniently aligns with existing sanitation protocols in the fresh produce industry but also facilitates the complete eradication of potential developed biofilms, outperforming uncoated LDPE coupons. Overall, these coatings represent sustainable, cost-effective, and practical advancements in food safety and are promising candidates for widespread adoption in food processing environments.
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Anti-Infecciosos , Incrustação Biológica , Polifenóis , Polietileno , Anti-Infecciosos/farmacologia , Povidona , Escherichia coliRESUMO
This study presents a breakthrough in the field of onsite bacterial detection, offering an innovative, rapid, and ultrasensitive colorimetric biosensor for the detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7, using chemically modified melamine foam (MF). Different from conventional platforms, such as 96-well plates and fiber-based membranes, the modified MF features a macroporous reticulated three-dimensional (3D) framework structure, allowing fast and free movement of large biomolecules and bacteria cells through the MF structure in every direction and ensuring good accessibility of entire active binding sites of the framework structure with the target bacteria, which significantly increased sensitive and volume-responsive detection of whole-cell bacteria. The biosensing platform requires less than 1.5 h to complete the quantitative detection with a sensitivity of 10 cfu/mL, discernible by the naked eye, and an enhanced sensitivity of 5 cfu/mL with the help of a smartphone. Following a short enrichment period of 1 h, the sensitivity was further amplified to 2 cfu/mL. The biosensor material is volume responsive, making the biosensing platform sensitivity increase as the volume of the sample increases, and is highly suitable for testing large-volume fluid samples. This novel material paves the way for the development of volume-flexible biosensing platforms for the record-fast, onsite, selective, and ultrasensitive detection of various pathogenic bacteria in real-world applications.
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Técnicas Biossensoriais , Escherichia coli O157 , Colorimetria , Técnicas Biossensoriais/métodosRESUMO
Edible filamentous fungi (FF) are considered sustainable food materials given their rich nutrient profile and low carbon and water footprints during production. The current study evaluated FF biomass as a natural encapsulation system for exogenous bioactive compounds and as a model system to investigate the complex food matrix-micronutrient interactions during in vitro digestion. Our objective was to compare the fungal pellet, as a multicellular encapsulation system, with single yeast cell-based carriers in terms of loading and release of curcumin, a model compound. The results suggest that the curcumin encapsulation efficiency was similar in single yeast cells and fungal hyphal cells. A vacuum treatment used to facilitate the infusion of curcumin into yeast or fungal cells also enabled rapid internalization of yeast cells into the fungal pellet matrix. Compared to the single-cell encapsulation system, the multicellular systems modified the release kinetics of curcumin during in vitro digestion by eliminating the initial rapid release and reducing the overall release rate of curcumin in the small intestinal phase. These results provide a deeper understanding of the effect of natural edible structures on the bioaccessibility of micronutrients, and demonstrate the potential of using FF biomass as functional food materials.
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Curcumina , Fermento Seco , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Curcumina/farmacologia , Fungos , Alimento Funcional , MicronutrientesRESUMO
α-Amanitin (AMN) is one of the deadliest toxins from mushrooms, present in the deadly mushroom species Amanita phalloides. It is a bicyclic octapeptide and represents up to 40% of the amatoxins in mushrooms, damaging the liver and kidneys. Current methods of detecting amatoxins are time-consuming and require the use of expensive equipment. A novel label-free electrochemical immunosensor was successfully developed for rapid detection of α-amanitin, which was fabricated by immobilization of anti-α-amanitin antibodies onto a functionalized cellulose nanofibrous membrane-modified carbon screen-printed electrode. An oxidation peak of the captured amanitin on the tethered antibodies was observed at 0.45 V. The performance of the nanofibrous membrane on the electrode and necessary fabrication steps were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Due to its unique structural features and properties such as high specific surface area and microporous structure, the nanofibrous membrane as an immunosensor matrix for antibody tethering improved the electrochemical performance of the immunosensor by more than 3 times compared with cast membranes. Under the optimal conditions, the assembled immunosensor exhibited high sensitivity toward α-amanitin detection in the range of 0.009-2 ng mL-1 with a limit of detection of 8.3 pg mL-1. The results clearly indicate that the fabricated nanofiber-based-immunosensor is suitable for point-of-care detection of lethal α-amanitin in human urine without any pretreatment within 30 min.
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Técnicas Biossensoriais , Nanofibras , Humanos , Alfa-Amanitina , Celulose , Sistemas Automatizados de Assistência Junto ao Leito , Imunoensaio/métodos , Amanitinas/química , Amanitinas/urina , Anticorpos , Técnicas Eletroquímicas/métodosRESUMO
Despite the growing demand and interest in 3D printing for food manufacturing, predicting printability of food-grade materials based on biopolymer composition and rheological properties is a significant challenge. This study developed two image-based printability assessment metrics: printed filaments' width and roughness and used these metrics to evaluate the printability of hydrogel-based food inks using response surface methodology (RSM) with regression analysis and machine learning. Rheological and compositional properties of food grade inks formulated using low-methoxyl pectin (LMP) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with different ionic crosslinking densities were used as predictors of printability. RSM and linear regression showed good predictability of rheological properties based on formulation parameters but could not predict the printability metrics. For a machine learning based prediction model, the printability metrics were binarized with pre-specified thresholds and random forest classifiers were trained to predict the filament width and roughness labels, as well as the overall printability of the inks using formulation and rheological parameters. Without including formulation parameters, the models trained on rheological measurements alone were able to achieve high prediction accuracy: 82% for the width and roughness labels and 88% for the overall printability label, demonstrating the potential to predict printability of the polysaccharide inks developed in this study and to possibly generalize the models to food inks with different compositions.
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Tinta , Polissacarídeos , Celulose/química , Alimentos , Impressão TridimensionalRESUMO
Bacterial transfer during postharvest handling of fresh produce provides a mechanism for spreading pathogens, but risk factors in dry environments are poorly understood. The aim of the study was to investigate factors influencing bacterial transfer between yellow onions (Allium cepa) and polyurethane (PU) or stainless steel (SS) under dry conditions. Rifampin-resistant Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 or a five-strain cocktail of Salmonella was inoculated onto onion skin or PU surfaces at high or moderate levels using peptone, onion extract, or soil water as inoculum carriers. Transfer from inoculated to uninoculated surfaces was conducted using a texture analyzer to control force, time, and number of contacts. Transfer rates (ratio of recipient surface to donor surface populations) of E. faecium (4-5%) were significantly higher than those of Salmonella (0.5-0.6%) at the high (7 log CFU/cm2) but not moderate (5 log CFU/cm2) inoculum levels. Significantly higher populations of E. faecium transferred from onion to PU than from PU to onion. The transfer rates of E. faecium were impacted by inoculum carrier (61% [onion extract], 1.6% [peptone], and 0.31% [soil]) but not by inoculation level or recipient surface (PU versus SS). Bacterial transfer during dry onion handling is significantly dependent on bacterial species, inoculation levels, inoculum carrier, and transfer direction.
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Enterococcus faecium , Salmonella enterica , Cebolas , Contagem de Colônia Microbiana , Peptonas , Microbiologia de Alimentos , Salmonella , Solo , Extratos Vegetais , Manipulação de AlimentosRESUMO
Sherry wine is a pale-yellowish dry wine produced in Southern-Spain which features are mainly due to biological aging when the metabolism of biofilm-forming yeasts (flor yeasts) consumes ethanol (and other non-fermentable carbon sources) from a previous alcoholic fermentation, and produces volatile compounds such as acetaldehyde. To start aging and maintain the wine stability, a high alcohol content is required, which is achieved by the previous fermentation or by adding ethanol (fortification). Here, an alternative method is proposed which aims to produce a more economic, distinctive Sherry wine without fortification. For this, a flor yeast has been pre-acclimatized to glycerol consumption against ethanol, and later confined in a fungal-based immobilization system known as "microbial biocapsules", to facilitate its inoculum. Once aged, the wines produced using biocapsules and free yeasts (the conventional method) exhibited chemical differences in terms of acidity and volatile concentrations. These differences were evaluated positively by a sensory panel. Pre-acclimatization of flor yeasts to glycerol consumption was not successful but when cells were immobilized in fungal pellets, ethanol consumption was lower. We believe that immobilization of flor yeasts in microbial biocapsules is an economic technique that can be used to produce high quality differentiated Sherry wines.
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Vinho , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolismo , Vinho/microbiologia , Glicerol/metabolismo , Acetaldeído/análise , Acetaldeído/metabolismo , Etanol/metabolismo , FermentaçãoRESUMO
Immobilized yeast cells are used industrially in winemaking processes such as sparkling wine and Sherry wine production. Here, a novel approach has been explored for the infusion and immobilization of yeast cells into filamentous fungal pellets, which serve as a porous natural material. This was accomplished through vacuum application to force the yeast cells towards the core of the fungal pellets followed by culture in YPD medium to promote their growth from the interior. This method represents an improved variation of a previous approach for the assembly of "yeast biocapsules," which entailed the co-culture of both fungal and yeast cells in the same medium. A comparison was made between both techniques in terms of biocapsule productivity, cell retention capacity, and cell biological activity through an alcoholic fermentation of a grape must. The results indicated a substantial increase in biocapsule productivity (37.40-fold), higher cell retention within the biocapsules (threefold), and reduction in cell leakage during fermentation (twofold). Although the majority of the chemical and sensory variables measured in the produced wine did not exhibit notable differences from those produced utilizing suspended yeast cells (conventional method), some differences (such as herbaceous and toasted smells, acidity, bitterness, and persistence) were perceived and wines positively evaluated by the sensory panel. As the immobilized cells remain functional and the encapsulation technique can be expanded to other microorganisms, it creates potential for additional industrial uses like biofuel, health applications, microbe encapsulation and delivery, bioremediation, and pharmacy. KEY POINTS: ⢠New approach improves biocapsule productivity and cell retention. ⢠Immobilized yeast remains functional in fermentation. ⢠Wine made with immobilized yeast had positive sensory differences.
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Vinho , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/química , Encapsulamento de Células , Vácuo , Fermentação , Vinho/microbiologiaRESUMO
Rapid pathogen detection in food and agricultural water is essential for ensuring food safety and public health. However, complex and noisy environmental background matrices delay the identification of pathogens and require highly trained personnel. Here, we present an AI-biosensing framework for accelerated and automated pathogen detection in various water samples, from liquid food to agricultural water. A deep learning model was used to identify and quantify target bacteria based on their microscopic patterns generated by specific interactions with bacteriophages. The model was trained on augmented datasets to maximize data efficiency, using input images of selected bacterial species, and then fine-tuned on a mixed culture. Model inference was performed on real-world water samples containing environmental noises unseen during model training. Overall, our AI model trained solely on lab-cultured bacteria achieved rapid (< 5.5 h) prediction with 80-100% accuracy on the real-world water samples, demonstrating its ability to generalize to unseen data. Our study highlights the potential applications in microbial water quality monitoring during food and agricultural processes.
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Bacteriófagos , Técnicas Biossensoriais , Bactérias , Técnicas Biossensoriais/métodosRESUMO
The emerging infectious diseases have created one of the major practical needs to develop active packaging materials with durable antibacterial and antiviral properties for the food industry. To meet this demand, the development of new technologies applicable to food contact surfaces is highly desired but challenging. The recent discovery of the photoactive properties of vitamin K (VK) derivatives has raised great expectations as promising candidates in functional film development due to the generation of biocidal reactive oxygen species (ROS) by these compounds. Inspired by the excellent photoactivity of one of the light-stable VK derivatives, menadione (VK3), under visible daylight irradiation, we demonstrate a protocol for the fabrication of daylight-mediated biocidal packaging materials by incorporating VK3 into a poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) matrix. The VK3 (i.e., 1-5% w/w) incorporated EVA films successfully demonstrated the production of ROS and antibacterial and antiviral performance against Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua, and T7 bacteriophage, respectively, under daylight exposure conditions. The results revealed that the addition of a proper percentage of VK3 significantly enhanced the ROS productivity of the films and created a novel daylight-induced microbial killing performance on the films. The biocidal functions of the films are long-lasting and rechargeable when exposed to light repeatedly, making them a viable contender for replacing currently available conventional packaging films.
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Embalagem de Alimentos , Polímeros , Espécies Reativas de Oxigênio , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Antivirais/farmacologiaRESUMO
This study develops a novel low-cost microbial delivery system by transforming common food materials such as apple tissue into a 3D scaffold. Apple tissue scaffold was constructed by decellularization of intact tissue using a minimal amount of sodium dodecyl sulfate (0.5 % w/v). Vacuum-assisted infusion of model probiotic Lactobacillus cells led to a high encapsulation yield of probiotic cells (1010 CFU/g of scaffold) in 3D scaffolds on a wet basis. The bio-polymer coated 3D scaffolds with infused cells significantly enhanced the survivability of infused probiotic cells during simulated gastric and intestinal digestions. In addition, imaging and plate counting results validate the growth of the infused cells in the 3D scaffold after 1-2 days of fermentation in MRS media, while cells without infusion in the scaffold had limited attachment with the intact apple tissue. Overall, these results highlight the potential of the apple tissue-derived 3D scaffold to deliver probiotic cells and include the biochemical compositions to support the growth of delivered microbial cells in the colon.
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Malus , Probióticos , Lactobacillus , Trato Gastrointestinal , Colo , Probióticos/químicaRESUMO
Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide. Although glyphosate is not acutely toxic, the intake of glyphosate-based herbicides has caused many accidents. Some studies have suggested that surfactants might be the cause. The purpose of this study was to compare the toxicokinetic (TK) properties of glyphosate according to different vehicles in rats. Glyphosate (1%) was dissolved in distilled water (DW), polyoxyethylene tallow amine (POEA), and Tween 20. After a single oral treatment of glyphosate (50 mg/kg), blood was collected at time intervals, and glyphosate concentrations in the target organ (liver and kidney) were determined 24 h after final blood collection. All samples were analyzed using LC-MS/MS. The TK parameters of glyphosate were similar in the DW and Tween 20 groups. However, there were significant differences in Tmax and volume of distribution (Vd) between the DW and POEA group (p < 0.05). Glyphosate was absorbed about 10 times faster in POEA group rather than DW, and exhibited a higher distribution. However, other important TK parameters of T1/2, AUC, and Cmax were not statistically different among the different vehicle groups. Although glyphosate concentration in the liver was significantly higher in the POEA group than in the DW group, there was no significant difference in the kidney. These results indicate that the toxicokinetics of glyphosate are not significantly affected by POEA. It can be concluded that POEA toxicity itself can be attributed to the acute toxicity of glyphosate-containing products.
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Microbial contamination of food products is a significant challenge that impacts food safety and quality. This review focuses on bio-based technologies for enhancing the decontamination of raw foods during postharvest processing, preventing cross-contamination, and rapidly detecting microbial risks. The bio-based antimicrobial compositions include bio-based antimicrobial delivery systems and coatings. The antimicrobial delivery systems are developed using cell-based carriers, microbubbles, and lipid-based colloidal particles. The antimicrobial coatings are engineered by incorporating biopolymers with conventional antimicrobials or cell-based antimicrobial carriers. The bio-based sensing approaches focus on replacing antibodies with more stable and cost-effective bio-receptors, including antimicrobial peptides, bacteriophages, DNAzymes, and engineered liposomes. Together, these approaches can reduce microbial contamination risks and enhance the in-situ detection of microbes.
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Anti-Infecciosos , Bacteriófagos , Inocuidade dos Alimentos , Anti-Infecciosos/químicaRESUMO
In assessing food microbial safety, the presence of Escherichia coli is a critical indicator of fecal contamination. However, conventional detection methods require the isolation of bacterial macrocolonies for biochemical or genetic characterization, which takes a few days and is labor-intensive. In this study, we show that the real-time object detection and classification algorithm You Only Look Once version 4 (YOLOv4) can accurately identify the presence of E. coli at the microcolony stage after a 3-h cultivation. Integrating with phase-contrast microscopic imaging, YOLOv4 discriminated E. coli from seven other common foodborne bacterial species with an average precision of 94%. This approach also enabled the rapid quantification of E. coli concentrations over 3 orders of magnitude with an R2 of 0.995. For romaine lettuce spiked with E. coli (10 to 103 CFU/g), the trained YOLOv4 detector had a false-negative rate of less than 10%. This approach accelerates analysis and avoids manual result determination, which has the potential to be applied as a rapid and user-friendly bacterial sensing approach in food industries. IMPORTANCE A simple, cost-effective, and rapid method is desired to identify potential pathogen contamination in food products and thus prevent foodborne illnesses and outbreaks. This study combined artificial intelligence (AI) and optical imaging to detect bacteria at the microcolony stage within 3 h of inoculation. This approach eliminates the need for time-consuming culture-based colony isolation and resource-intensive molecular approaches for bacterial identification. The approach developed in this study is broadly applicable for the identification of diverse bacterial species. In addition, this approach can be implemented in resource-limited areas, as it does not require expensive instruments and significantly trained human resources. This AI-assisted detection not only achieves high accuracy in bacterial classification but also provides the potential for automated bacterial detection, reducing labor workloads in food industries, environmental monitoring, and clinical settings.