Detecting microbes in complex food and environmental matrices remains a persistent challenge, often requiring time-intensive workflows and multiple processing steps. Conventional methods can take a week or more to confirm pathogens, posing significant limitations for both industry and public health, especially amid growing diagnostic backlogs and increasing demand for microbial surveillance. There is a clear need for rapid screening tools that provide timely insights into microbial presence and support a more risk-based approach to testing. This presentation explores emerging hyphenated techniques incorporating mass spectrometry, aimed at addressing these challenges. Join Dr Jadhav to discover how these approaches could help reshape the future of microbial screening.
Dr Snehal Jadhav is a mid-career researcher and Food Safety Lead at the Deakin Centre for Advanced Food Sciences, Deakin University. She completed her PhD and postdoctoral training at Swinburne University of Technology, where she worked on industry-linked projects focused on meat and dairy food safety. Dr Jadhav is currently a Chief Investigator in the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (HyTECH). Her research within HyTECH leverages advanced separation science tools to develop rapid microbial detection methods and sustainable antimicrobial control strategies, with the overarching goal of reducing microbial-driven food waste.