Herb wrap wards off food poisoning
The herb basil is the crucial ingredient in a super wrap being developed to protect food more effectively from contamination by dangerous bugs.
Scientists are using anti-microbial extracts from the herb to create a plastic wrapper for meat and cheese.
The chemicals slowly ooze out from the wrapper - and extend the product's shelf-life by killing off bacteria such as E. coli and listeria which can cause severe food poisoning.
New Scientist magazine reports that tests have shown the new wrapping can keep bacteria at bay in Cheddar cheese for a week longer than ordinary packaging.
The wrapper has been developed by scientists at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and the Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia.
It is laced with two chemicals extracted from basil: an ether called methyl chavicol and the alcohol linalool.
Both contain compounds that attack and destroy cell walls, and have been shown to be active against eight types of bacteria.
Source BBC News
Scientists are using anti-microbial extracts from the herb to create a plastic wrapper for meat and cheese.
The chemicals slowly ooze out from the wrapper - and extend the product's shelf-life by killing off bacteria such as E. coli and listeria which can cause severe food poisoning.
New Scientist magazine reports that tests have shown the new wrapping can keep bacteria at bay in Cheddar cheese for a week longer than ordinary packaging.
The wrapper has been developed by scientists at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and the Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia.
It is laced with two chemicals extracted from basil: an ether called methyl chavicol and the alcohol linalool.
Both contain compounds that attack and destroy cell walls, and have been shown to be active against eight types of bacteria.
Source BBC News
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home