Abstract:Microbiological examination plays an important part in food safety，but based on the traditional culture method is difficult to achieve result timely and accurate.PCR technology has opened up a new way for the rapid detection of microbes，however，it can not distinguish the dead and viable bacteria.Ethidium monoazide bromide （EMA）combined with PCR，can rapidly and accurately detect viable microorganisms from food，therefore reducing the incidence of food safety incidents.In this review，we summarized recent progresses on EMA combined with PCR，RT-PCR and LAMP technology for detecting the viable bacteria in food.