System for 
      Cleaning Fresh and 
       Fresh-Cut Produce
        A system and method for cleaning and 
        sanitizing fresh-cut produce. The approach 
        is to use an upwardly-directed spray, with           Benefits
        one or more water jets of sanitizer solution, 
        to remove organic exudate foreign                     • Minimizes the use of chlorine (or other 
        materials and microorganisms from fresh-                sanitizers) and reduces the volume of water 
                                                                used
        cut produce immediately after the produce 
        exits the cutter blades. The system is               Applications
        designed so that as the produce falls, it is          • A system and method to quickly and 
        impacted, reoriented, cleaned, and/or                   efficiently remove organic exudate, field 
        sanitized by the produce-washing liquid.                debris and soil particulates from freshly-cut 
                                                                produce
        U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 
        US20170215443
        Docket No: 161.15
        Contact: Jim.Poulos@ars.usda.gov
                     Novel Methods and 
                         Compositions to 
              Evaluate and Determine 
                            Inactivation of 
                  Hazardous Biological 
                                   Materials
               A time and temperature integrator assay is                                                 Benefits
               developed to evaluate the inactivation 
               processes of hazardous biological material in                                                •  Quantitative and sensitive test
               a sample by quantifying the degradation of                                                   •  Results obtained in 3 - 6 hours instead of days or weeks
               DNA using qPCR.  Food contains abundant                                                      Applications
               copies of conserved mitochondrial DNA that                                                   •  A test for bacterial contamination after thermal food 
               degrades gradually during microwave or                                                          processing  by pasteurization, conventional heating, 
               thermal treatment. The amount of intact                                                         retorting, industrial microwaving, and roasting for 
               mitochondrial DNA after processing is                                                           human consumption and/or animal feed
               correlated with the viability of bacterial                                                   •  The sample can be a food product (e.g., fruits, 
                                                                                                               vegetables, meat from animals, or eggs) while the item 
               pathogens in the processed foods. PCT                                                           can be any object (e.g., medical equipment, especially 
               Application No.: PCT/US14/54749                                                                 reusable medical equipment)
               (Life Sciences)
               Docket No: 42.13
               Contact: Joseph.Lipovsky@ars.usda.gov
           Methods for Preparing 
         Phenolic Branched Chain 
        Alkyl Fatty Acids or Esters 
         Thereof and Methods for 
          Killing Microorganisms
          Methods for preparing plant derived                  Benefits
          phenolic branched chain fatty acids and               • Quantitative and sensitive test
          methods for using them to kill                        • Results obtained in 3 - 6 hours instead of days or 
          microorganisms.                                        weeks
          (Life Sciences, Medical-Health)                       • Sustainable since phenolic and fatty acids are 
                                                                 natural compounds
          Docket No: 47.15                                      Applications
          Contact: Jim.Poulos@ars.usda.gov                      • Antimicrobials to improve microbial food safety
                                                                • Alternative to bleach
                                                                • Value added by-products of agricultural processing
                                                                • The crude phenolic branched-chain fatty acid 
                                                                 mixtures do not have unpleasant odor
             Use of Phyllosphere 
           Associated Lactic Acid 
           Bacteria as Biocontrol 
       Agents to Reduce Bacterial 
         Growth on Fresh Produce
        The use of phyllosphere-associated             Benefits
        lactic acid bacteria that demonstrate           • Bacteria are applied in liquid or freeze dried 
        inhibitory effects on the growth and             powder forms onto food surfaces or agricultural 
        maintenance of human pathogens,                  environments that are already contaminated 
                                                         with pathogenic bacteria 
        such as Salmonella enterica, on the             • Treatment of produce can take place either pre- 
        surface of food products, particularly           or post-harvest 
        fresh fruits and vegetables.                    • Easily implemented, low cost solution
        (Environmental, Life Sciences)
                                                       Applications
                                                        • Could be used to eliminate prevalent food-
        Docket Nos: 76.14                                borne pathogens
        Contact:                                        • Bacteria could also be used to decontaminate 
        Jeffrey.Walenta@ars.usda.gov                     food processing environments and machinery 
                                                         as part of a normal sanitization process.
                  Micro-Fluidic Mixer 
                           and Method of 
                               Determining 
                                     Pathogen 
                         Inactivation Via 
                              Antimicrobial 
                                      Solutions
                                                                                                                                 Benefits
                 An automated micro-fluidic device and                                                                             •  Quantitative and sensitive test
                 method to determine whether sufficient                                                                            •  Results obtained in 3 - 6 hours instead of days or weeks
                 free chlorine is present in a wash solution                                                                       •  The device can determine whether sufficient free chlorine is present 
                 to inactivate a target pathogen.                                                                                     in wash solution to inactive a target pathogen
                                                                                                                                   •  It can determine the time and dose-dependent response of 
                 (Electronics & Hardware, Life Sciences)                                                                              pathogen inactivation via free chlorine in times as short as a few 
                                                                                                                                      seconds or less
                 Docket No: 112.14                                                                                                 Applications
                                                                                                                                   •  Use in the produce washing industry to determine the minimum free 
                 Contact: Jim.Poulos@ars.usda.gov                                                                                     chlorine concentration needed to prevent pathogen survival/cross-
                                                                                                                                      contamination when washing fruits and vegetables
                                                                                                                                   •  Applications in food, agriculture, pharmaceutics, and other 
                                                                                                                                      biological fields. Examples: chemical reaction kinetics study during 
                                                                                                                                      drug development and microbial challenge studies during the 
                                                                                                                                      development of new sanitizers and anti-microbial agents for food 
                                                                                                                                      and human usages