American researchers say they have discovered a natural preservative that is powerful enough to keep food fresh for long periods of time. Strong effect When Dan O'Sullivan, a microbiologist at the University of Minnesota, studied the human intestinal flora, he accidentally discovered a substance. This substance is naturally produced from some innocuous bacteria and can eliminate bacteria that cause food spoilage, preventing the growth of deadly bacteria including E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria. Researchers say that this preservative can stop the spoilage of meat, fish, eggs and dairy products and is equally effective for opened wines and salad dressings. It is more important to extend the shelf life of common foods with stringent shelf life, such as seafood, cheese and canned foods. In some cases, foods containing this natural preservative do not even need to be placed in the refrigerator and can be stored for several years at room temperature. However, this natural preservative does not keep vegetables and fruits from rot. The British "Daily Mail" quoted O'Sullivan on the 15th as saying: "It looks better than the previous (preservative), and will not affect the nutritional value of food, because we do not add chemicals, we just add A natural ingredient." He said: "It (new preservatives) can protect food from a variety of pathogenic bacteria." Fox News, said on the 14th, this new type of preservative and preservative nisin is "close relatives." Nisin is widely used in the preservation of processed cheese, which can make processed cheese shelf life of several decades. Therefore, this new preservative does not need to undergo pharmaceutical testing before it is put on the market. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have applied for this preservative patent. They are negotiating with food manufacturers and it is expected that foods containing this preservative can be marketed within three years. Change habits The Daily Mail commented that this discovery will prompt people to revolutionize their shopping methods. A survey shows that British people discard food worth 5 billion pounds (about 7 billion US dollars) each year. An average of 10% of the food purchased by each household per week is eventually thrown into the trash. More than one-fifth of households discarded food even more than a quarter of the volume purchased. Only 71% of shoppers considered whether to waste this problem when shopping. 15% said that they have never taken steps to reduce waste. Although it is a waste of food, if the food exceeds its shelf life, eating it may cause poisoning. A total of 85,000 food poisoning incidents occurred in the UK last year. Among them, one-eighth of food poisoning people were infected with Salmonella. (Jing Jing)
No time for lunch to be ready for work on the next day? It doesn't matter. Maybe not long afterwards, you can prepare for it a year ahead of schedule.
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