INTRODUCTION Foodborne pathogens have long been recognized as one of the most important sources causing food poisoning worldwide and in some occasions even deaths. Conventional microbiological quantification techniques such as the plate count methods and the most-probable-number (MPN) methods are time-consuming and require 5 to 6 days to finish the whole process. Rapid methods for the detection and characterization of foodborne pathogens are vital not only to food industries for hygienic purposes but also to governments for increasing protection level of public health and for ensuring the safety of consumers. In recent years, various rapid methods have been established to detect foodborne pathogens [1-5], among which nucleic acid-based molecular methods are commonly used instead of protein-based immunological techniques because of simplicity in operation, stable detection results, and savings in time [6,7]. The purpose of this paper is to review some recently developed methods based on nucleic acid approaches and to discuss some newer and more novel molecular methods under laboratory investigations for the rapid and dependable detection and characterization of foodborne pathogens.
