Fridge that uses lasers to detect food bugs

FRIDGES that can tell you if your food is off by using lasers to scan for bacteria could soon be available, scientists say.

The technology could potentially prevent food poisoning and reduce the 500,000 cases of salmonella in the UK each year.

The device was developed by physicists at the Korea Advanced Institutes of Science and Technology in South Korea.

It works because when a laser beam hits biological tissue such as meat it is scattered through the material, causing the light to disperse and creating a random pattern known as ‘laser speckle’.

But the bacteria on the surface of food changes the speckle by causing scattering as well.

By measuring the changes in the pattern using a camera, the device would then know which foods are dangerous to eat.

However, while the technique can detect different types of bacteria, it cannot distinguish between them.