Study Shows Chitosan Derivative Reduces Risk of Food Contamination
Claremont CA, January 24, 2012—Research conducted by Synedgen Inc. and the School of Environment, Natural Resources & Geography, at Bangor University, Bangor, UK, appears in the early view of Food Control, an international, official scientific journal of the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST) covering microbial food safety and antimicrobial systems.
Investigations focused on a highly effective chitosan derivative developed by Synedgen to control the spread of food-borne pathogens. The article highlights the potential for Synedgen’s chitosan derivative to provide a new, inexpensive means to improve food safety.
Stacy Townsend PhD, and Shenda Baker PhD, of Synedgen, and Rabya A. Lahmer, A. Prysor Williams PhD, and Davey L. Jones PhD from Bangor University UK, conducted the research described in Antibacterial action of chitosan-arginine against Escherichia coli O157 in chicken juice.
They tested Synedgen’s derivative on chicken juice because it readily accumulates in food packaging and is often implicated in food poisoning incidents, and found that it significantly reduced both the numbers and metabolic activity of E. coli. In addition, it also impeded the growth of general food spoilage bacteria and reduced malodor. Importantly, this effect lasted up to 3 days.
“Food-borne illnesses pose a serious health concern. The results of this research confirms the ability of our biocompatible derivative to reduce lethal bacteria in packaged food sources, and potentially offers a new means to safely and effectively improve food safety, maintain product shelf life and freshness, and prevent food contamination,” remarked Dr. Baker.
This research was also presented at a poster session at the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM) Summer Conference.
The article abstract is available at
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713512000485