Campylobacter control in meat- Patent and Technology Research Report - Key players, innovators and industry analysis

Campylobacter bacteria are a major cause of foodborne diarrhoeal illness (Campylobacteriosis) in humans and are the most common bacteria that cause gastroenteritis worldwide. Campylobacter infections are generally mild, but can be fatal among very young children, elderly and immune-suppressed individuals [WHO].The Campylobacter spp. associated with gastrointestinal illness in humans includes C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, C. fetus and C. upsaliensis [Food safety and Authority of Ireland].

The bacteria normally inhabit the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals such as poultry, cattle, pigs, sheep, ostriches and shellfish; and in pets, including cats and dogs. Hence they are frequently detected in foods derived from these animals. Most often, carcasses or meat are contaminated by Campylobacter from faeces during slaughtering. The main route of transmission is generally believed to be foodborne, via undercooked meat and meat products, as well as raw or contaminated milk [WHO].

The report mainly concentrates on the methods of reducing or controlling Campylobacter in meat. This is done either by giving a specialized feed to the animal before slaughter, thereby preventing the growth of campylobacter in the gut of the animal or directly treating the carcasses using chemicals, irradiation and other methods.

Dolcera report focuses on finding the relevant patents encompassing the research that has been taking place in this field. Dolcera has a standardized and tested procedure to formulate comprehensive patent search strategies to retrieve all the relevant patents. The report highlights year-wise patent activity (trend line) along with the key industrial players in the field. The different Companies have been categorized based on their position in the value chain. A comprehensible result in the form of Dolcera dashboard has been given. Dashboard links the Companies in each category to their patents, hence making an interactive platform for analysis. Companies have also been segregated based on their geographical distribution. Dolcera has retrieved around 250 relevant patents related to Campylobacter control in meat, covering around 8 countries. Furthermore, several patents have been mapped to commercially available products produced by the respective assignees and other licensees. The report also highlights different Universities and Research Institutes active in the said technology area, based on a thorough scientific articles search resulting in around 200 relevant articles and hence pointing out opportunities for Industry tie ups.

Table of Contents:

1. Executive summary
2. Introduction
2.1. Sources of contamination
2.2. Control mechanism
3. Patent search strategy
4. Sample patent analysis
5. Taxonomy for Campylobacter control in meat
6. Top citations
6.1. Top cited patents
6.2. Key patents
7. Patent to product mapping
8. Key findings
8.1. Major players
9. Major players in various industries
9.1. Animal feed and nutrition industry
9.2. Animal health care industry
9.3. Food safety products and services
9.4. Meat products manufacturers
9.5. Food products and additives industry
9.6. IP activity
9.6.1. Based on publication year
9.6.2. Based on priority year
9.7. Geographical activity
9.7.1. Based on basic patents and family members
9.7.2. Based on assignees
10. Articles search
11. Top research institutes
12. Conclusion
13. References
14. Appendix A: Control patents
15. Appendix B: Relevant class code definition
15.1. IPC / ECLA class codes
15.2. US Class codes
15.3. Japanese F-terms
16. Appendix C: Concept table
16.1. Concept 1: campylobacter
16.2. Concept 2: control
16.3. Concept 3: meat
17. Appendix D: Patent search strategy
17.1. a) Search strategy with English keywords
17.2. b) Search strategy with French keywords
17.3. c) Search strategy with German keywords
17.4. d) Search strategy with Japanese F-terms
17.5. e) Final search query
18. Appendix E: Articles search strategy

List of Tables
Table 1: Sample patent analysis
Table 2: Top cited patents
Table 3: Patent to product mapping
Table 4: Control patents
Table 5: IPC/ ECLA class codes and definitions
Table 6: US class codes and definitions
Table 7: Japanese F-terms and definitions
Table 8: Concept keywords for searching patents
Table 9: Search strategy with English keywords
Table 10: Search strategy with French keywords
Table 11: Search strategy with German keywords
Table 12: Search strategy with Japanese F-terms
Table 13: Final search query
Table 14: Scientific articles search strategy

List of Figures
Figure 1: Campylobacter spp.
Figure 2: Carcass decontamination
Figure 3: Taxonomy showing the various fields obtained in sample analysis
Figure 4: Top cited patents
Figure 5: Top assignees in the field of Campylobacter control in meat
Figure 6: Assignees in Animal feed and nutrition industry
Figure 7: Assignees in Animal health care industry
Figure 8: Assignees in Food safety products and services sector
Figure 9: Assignees in Meat processing sector
Figure 10: Assignees in Food products and additives industry
Figure 11: IP activity based on the publication year
Figure 12: IP activity based on the priority year
Figure 13: Geographical distribution of patents
Figure 14: Geographical distribution of assignees
Figure 15: Top Universities/Research institutes active in this field