Biosensors for agriculture and food industry
Various possible applications of biosensors in agriculture include detection of viral, fungal and bacterial diseases, fertilizers and pesticides, even though many of these biosensors will be too expensive to be viable. The most viable use of biosensors in food industry will include rapid detection of total microbial contaminants and sugar quantification in soft drinks. For instance, in advanced countries biosensors have been developed to determine the freshness of fish and other food items including beef and other foods. In future, biosensors may be developed for on-line use, where analysis will be carried out on food samples, which are removed from the production line if found unsatisfactory. Such an analysis would facilitate real-time control of products during manufacture.