USPTO Patent Application: Pathogen Surrogates for Fresh Produce Sanitation

ChangeBridge: Patent Apps - Peptides (C07K)

Published November 12th, 2025

Detected March 23rd, 2026

Summary

The USPTO has published a patent application (US20260079142A1) detailing pathogen surrogates with DNA tags for verifying sanitation systems in fresh produce processing. The application describes a method using these surrogates to mimic pathogen behavior during sanitation and subsequent DNA detection.

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What changed

This document is a USPTO patent application (US20260079142A1) filed on November 12, 2025, concerning pathogen surrogates for verifying sanitation systems in fresh produce processing. The invention involves using encapsulated DNA tags within a carrier material that mimics pathogen behavior during sanitation processes. The goal is to provide a method for validating the effectiveness of sanitation and wash water systems by introducing these surrogates, subjecting the environment to sanitation, and then detecting the DNA tags.

As this is a patent application, it does not impose immediate regulatory requirements or compliance deadlines on food manufacturers. However, it represents a potential future technology that could impact food safety verification methods. Companies involved in fresh produce processing or sanitation system development may wish to monitor the progress of this patent and similar innovations in the field of food safety technology.

Source document (simplified)

← USPTO Patent Applications

PATHOGEN SURROGATES BASED ON ENCAPSULATED TAGGED DNA FOR VERIFICATION OF SANITATION AND WASH WATER SYSTEMS FOR FRESH PRODUCE

Application US20260079142A1 Kind: A1 Mar 19, 2026

Inventors

Antonios ZOGRAFOS, George Roy FARQUAR, John Mark CARTER

Abstract

A pathogen surrogate, formed by a DNA tag or bar code and a carrier, is described for use in the validation and verification of sanitation, such as in food processing operations and for wash water systems for fresh produce. The carrier material is selected so that the pathogen surrogate mimics the behavior of a pathogen when subjected to a sanitation operation. One or more surrogates can be introduced in to an environment, which is then subjected to sanitation process, followed by a detection process using the DNA tag of the surrogate.