WEST LAFAYETTE Ind. —A professor at Purdue University developed a new method for destroying some harmful bacteria in bagged produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, which, if proven commercially viable, could reduce foodborne illness incidents.
Kevin Keener designed a device consisting of a set of high-voltage coils attached to a small transformer that generates a room-temperature plasma field inside a package, ionizing the gases inside. The process kills harmful bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella, which have caused public-health concerns over the past decade and, recently, harmed restaurant customers and reduced sales of products containing produce implicated in the outbreaks. —A professor at Purdue University developed a new method for destroying some harmful bacteria in bagged produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, which, if proven commercially viable, could reduce foodborne illness incidents.
“So far, it has worked on spinach and tomatoes, but it could work on any type of produce or other food,” said Keener, an associate professor in Purdue’s Department of Food Science. —A professor at Purdue University developed a new method for destroying some harmful bacteria in bagged produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, which, if proven commercially viable, could reduce foodborne illness incidents.
He said he successfully tested the process using glass containers, flexible plastic-like food-storage bags and rigid plastics, such as strawberry cartons and pill bottles. —A professor at Purdue University developed a new method for destroying some harmful bacteria in bagged produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, which, if proven commercially viable, could reduce foodborne illness incidents.
In the plasma field created by Keener’s device—which is a charged cloud of gas—oxygen has been ionized and converted to ozone. Treatment times for the system range from 30 seconds to about five minutes. Eventually, the ionized gas will revert back to its original composition. —A professor at Purdue University developed a new method for destroying some harmful bacteria in bagged produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, which, if proven commercially viable, could reduce foodborne illness incidents.
Keener said the next step is to develop a commercial prototype of the device that could work on large quantities of food. A patent on the technology is pending. —A professor at Purdue University developed a new method for destroying some harmful bacteria in bagged produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, which, if proven commercially viable, could reduce foodborne illness incidents.
Ozone has been shown in numerous studies to be more effective at killing bacteria than water and such solutions as chlorine. It is being investigated on several fronts as a means to better clean fresh produce. —A professor at Purdue University developed a new method for destroying some harmful bacteria in bagged produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, which, if proven commercially viable, could reduce foodborne illness incidents.