In situ loop-mediated isothermal amplification (in situ LAMP) as a novel technique for detection of food-borne pathogens, has been successfully applied to detect Salmonella in artificially contaminated eggshells. Escherichia coli C600 was used as a negative control in specificity experiment. The sensitivity of the in situ LAMP assay was confirmed by the test in serial 10-fold dilutions of Salmonella cells, and the detection limit of this method may reach 1 CFU/cm(2) on eggshells. Compared with traditional culture methods and PCR-based methods, the in situ LAMP assay is advantageous on rapidity, high specificity, less time consumption and ease in operation. This is the first study carried out to apply the in situ LAMP method in practical food-borne pathogens detection. The results indicate that this method has great potential for use in food safety laboratories. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.