Abstract: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the important pathogenic bacteria causing foodborne disease outbreaks. The traditional detection methods for Staphylococcus aureus include culture, biochemical identification, nucleic acid analysis and immunoassay, which have high reliability despite being tedious and time-consuming and having low sensitivity. The biosensor is a new micro-analytical technology integrating biology, optics, chemistry and other areas of science. It has the characteristics of high sensitivity and rapidity, and thus has been widely used in the detection of foodborne pathogens. This article compares the traditional detection methods for Staphylococcus aureus with a focus on new optical and electrochemical biosensors for the detection of Staphylococcus aureus based on aptamers, phages or nanomaterials. Moreover, future development trends are discussed.

Key words: foodborne; Staphylococcus aureus; biosensor; detection technology; application