The Food Warden

The Food Warden is a system which detects meat spoilage. It uses Bacillus subtilis cells. Their natural genetic response to the gases of rotten meat has been identified and linked to a pigment production system. In this way, a consumer can easily see when the meat is spoiled: it's rotten and you know it!

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How does it work?

Volatiles from rotten meat activate the P sboA promoter, triggering the production of pigments (blue or yellow).

More details can be found on our Data Page .

Stop the food waste!

Every year, 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown away worldwide (one third of total food production), partly due to the fact that best before dates are imprecise. A reliable way of monitoring whether food is spoiled or not could save money and reduce food waste.

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Our achievements





Gold Medal





Regional Winner

at the iGEM European Jamboree



World Championship!!!

