STAPHYLO-GUARD: MIRA-CRISPR-Cas12a Based Rapid Test Kit Innovation to Support Food Safety in the Free Nutritious Meal Program

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Project Overview

This project aims to develop “STAPHYLO-GUARD,” a portable, molecular-based rapid test kit designed to quickly, specifically, and sensitively detect Staphylococcus aureus without requiring advanced laboratory equipment. The project directly supports the food safety of Indonesia’s national Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program.

For detailed information, please refer to the original proposal document: “Baru_PR Teknologi dan Proses Pangan_ORPP_Nodali Ndraha - Copy.pdf”.

Principal Investigator: Nodali Ndraha, Ph.D.
Project Year: 2026 (February 2026 – November 2026)
Funding Agency: National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) - Research Organization for Agriculture and Food (ORPP)
Total Funding Amount: IDR 149,725,040

Research Team

Principal Investigator: Nodali Ndraha, Ph.D. (Research Center for Food Technology and Processing, BRIN)
Members:
- Dr. Ema Damayanti (Research Center for Food Technology and Processing, BRIN)
- Dr. Sri Murniasih (Research Center for Food Technology and Processing, BRIN)
- Ajeng Kusumaningtyas Pramono, Ph.D. (Research Center for Biomedical Sciences, BRIN)
- Indira Putri Negari, Ph.D. (Research Center for Vaccine and Drugs, BRIN)
- Dr. Desriani (Research Center for Genetic Engineering, BRIN)
- Ekawati Purwijantiningsih, M.Si. (Universitas Atma Jaya) - Partner

Project Summary

The Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program is a strategic national initiative to improve student nutrition in Indonesia. However, it faces a critical challenge: the risk of mass food poisoning caused by pathogenic bacteria contamination, particularly Staphylococcus aureus, within the catering distribution chain.

Conventional culture-based detection methods take 2-3 days, which is entirely impractical for daily “cook-serve” food distribution models, often resulting in delayed responses to foodborne outbreaks.

To address this, the STAPHYLO-GUARD project leverages advanced molecular technology combining Multienzyme Isothermal Rapid Amplification (MIRA) for isothermal DNA amplification at 37°C with the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas12a system. The Cas12a system provides high specificity through its collateral cleavage activity. The detection signal is then easily visualized using a Lateral Flow Assay (LFA) strip, which can be read by the naked eye.

Targeting the highly conserved thermonuclease (nuc) gene of S. aureus, this research includes optimizing crRNA and primer designs, formulating a one-pot reaction to prevent cross-contamination, and validating performance on actual MBG menu matrices (rice, animal-based side dishes, and milk).

The targeted output is a prototype kit capable of detecting S. aureus with a limit of detection of 1-10 copies/µL in under 50 minutes. This innovation is expected to become an effective, independent quality control solution for sanitarians and Nutritional Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) to ensure the food safety of the nation’s future generation.

CRISPR | Dr. Nodali Ndraha

STAPHYLO-GUARD: MIRA-CRISPR-Cas12a Based Rapid Test Kit Innovation to Support Food Safety in the Free Nutritious Meal Program

Project Overview

Research Team

Project Summary