Journal of Advances in Food Science & Technology

Foodborne-pathogen testing increasingly requires results that are not only analytically sensitive but also rapid, interpretable, robust in heterogeneous matrices and compatible with decisions made across production, surveillance and outbreak response. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated diagnostics have expanded this landscape by coupling programmable sequence recognition with collateral nucleic-acid cleavage, frequently after isothermal amplification. This critical narrative review evaluates CRISPR diagnostics alongside quantitative polymerase chain reaction, isothermal amplification, digital polymerase chain reaction, whole-genome sequencing and metagenomic or nanopore approaches, with emphasis on what determines performance in real food testing rather than purified-template experiments. Literature published from 1 January 2017 to 19 June 2026 was considered, with earlier foundational studies retained where necessary. The evidence indicates that Cas12a-centred assays can provide rapid and highly specific targeted detection across several bacterial and viral hazards, while Cas13, Cas12b, digital CRISPR and alternative readouts broaden the design space. Yet the apparent analytical gains are often contingent on upstream concentration, enrichment, lysis and amplification, and reported limits of detection are poorly comparable across studies because units, sample inputs, enrichment histories and positivity criteria differ. Viability discrimination, multiplexing, contamination control, reagent stability and prospective validation in naturally contaminated foods remain less mature than proof-of-concept sensitivity. Digital PCR offers stronger absolute quantification, whereas whole-genome sequencing and metagenomics provide strain resolution, source attribution and broader genomic context that targeted CRISPR assays cannot replace. The most defensible near-term model is therefore a tiered diagnostic architecture in which rapid CRISPR screening is integrated with fit-for-purpose sample preparation and linked to culture, quantitative molecular confirmation or sequencing according to the decision required. Translation will depend less on progressively lower nominal detection limits than on standardised validation of the complete sample-to-result workflow.