Public Funding for Crop Innovations Cio

The A-BioMe project is a collaborative industrial research project to extend the use of Agrisound automated insect monitoring system to give wider biodiversity, landscape and environment information. The envisaged product will be the first fully-automated acoustic landscape monitoring system - a maintenance-free device to be deployed in remote locations and uses bespoke audio analysis algorithms to automatically generate and report a range of biodiversity metrics. These metrics will be combined and contextualised as part of a wider surveillance network made accessible via Agrisound web-based platform supported by unique AI-driven environmental characterisation.

AflaScope is a cross-disciplinary collaboration to examine the feasibility of using an acoutic separation platform for purification of aflatoxins from crops. Aflatoxins (toxins from storage mould) are a significant threat to food security, particularly in developing nations. Testing & monitoring are vital but, due to complex sample prep, high cost, inaccessibility & lack of information, aflatoxin testing is not thoroughly implement & billions of people are at risk. This innovative project will develop a novel, rapid & chemical- free procedure for extracting & concentrating aflatoxins. When integrated with down-stream diagnostic advances, the extraction platform could enable a low-cost, sensitive, portable test system for on-site aflatoxin monitoring, increasing ease & frequency of testing, & potentially improve decontamination. If successful, the resultant increase in crop value & safety will bring about a step-change in on-farm management.

There is an urgent industry need for new mycotoxin extraction methods to increase the effectiveness of mycotoxin testing in food manufacture & processing. Recent advances in mycotoxin testing have focused on rapid detection but front-end extraction/concentration methods have lagged behind & there is no simple, cost-effective platform for one-step extraction & purification of multiple contaminants. This interdisciplinary project will develop a novel mycotoxin extraction system with the ability to increase the efficiency of testing by up to 20%, thereby lowering associated costs, increasing test kit uptake & improving resource efficiency, enabling substantial economic benefits to the UK food industry. The project is technically & commercially innovative as it exploits a novel acoustic extraction method that offers a flexible platform, seamlessly integrating into existing diagnostic techniques for enhanced efficiency of food testing; an innovation enabled only by cross-sector collaboration towards a common goal – superior mycotoxin testing capability. The proposed work has the potential to substantially improve food safety, contributing to a safe & secure food manufacturing supply chain.