Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a natural form of biological adaptation of some microorganisms that acquire the ability to survive or grow in the presence of a given concentration of an antibiotic agent that is generally able to inhibit growth or kill microorganisms of that species. The misuse of antibiotics has magnified the surge and spread of ABR microbes, with adverse clinical implications. In Europe, 4 million people become infected and 37,000 die each year from antibiotic resistant germs, resulting in yearly direct and indirect costs of nearly 1.5 billion euros.
It is estimated that over 50% of the antibiotics produced worldwide are destined to the farming industry, which eventually disseminate throughout the food chain causing ABR. In this sense, foods that are consumed uncooked, as is the case for several fermented foods, are of particular concern.
To confront the issue of ABR, we have defined two objectives, i) the transfer and validation of semi-automated screening method of antibiotic resistance into our laboratories, and ii) the validation of the bio-intervention strategy, which consisted of testing Sacco Srl strains in laboratory-scale models of fermented foods. In addition, we have conducted customer surveys to assay the interest of food manufacturers to biological solutions to ABR, and a patent search to verify that our solutions do not conflict with existing patents. Finally, a 5-year business plan was developed to assess the financial viability and opportunity of our solution.
