Plasma Fields? Bacteriophages? How Are They Related to Controlling Food Poisoning?

Ever since humankind has been concerned about storing and keeping food safe while processing meat or other edibles, it has commonly been by various means of cooking, smoking, or drying and the use of universally found or produced sources of salt, pepper, sugar, and smoke. However, with the advent of assembly line processing and corporate farms that raise food animals and vegetables by the tons, new, innovative means of protecting our food source from infestation by bacteria or other microorganisms has become paramount in importance.

With over 76 million cases of food poisoning with 325,000 hospitalizations and approximately 5000 deaths attributed to those poisonings each year, new ways are being found to kill bacteria that is frequently found in food, either while growing, during processing, or when being prepared prior to consumption. Recognized foodborne bacteria that cause most illness and death are those that may be found in almost all foods and the top ones are the species campylobacter, listeria, Shigella, salmonella, Enterotoxigenic and Escherichia E. coli, along with a group of viruses called calicivirus.

However, there are literally hundreds of other bacterial microorganisms that are identified as being responsible for even more illness and death, though the incidences are lower. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree that there may possibly be many more foodborne diseases presently active, but are not recognized to be food-related or which are currently unknown types of bacteria.

Food companies which are involved with growing or processing in the United States, are combating the realm of foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria with both old and new technology. These include the processes of canning, candying, pasteurization, freezing, dehydration, irradiation, special packaging, and the addition of chemical preservatives. Newer methods are also being explored to either kill or prevent bacteria from entering or growing in food products.

Studies have shown that through the use of high voltage coils hooked to a power transformer, (which creates a plasma field), bacteria is destroyed. Other studies have proven that use of water under high pressure also kills these dangerous microbes found in our food. Even more interesting, the scientific communities are going back to older known agents of food preservation and have found that the actions of other foods or spices such as prunes can kill E. coli and cinnamon kills microorganisms in juice.

Bacteriophages are specialty viruses that are developed to attack only a specific type or strain of bacteria and nothing else. The use of some bacteriophages has been approved by the FDA, allowing food companies to spray a mixture of these specifically developed phages on ready to eat meat and deli foods. Other bacteriophages are in the process of being developed to cover all types of preserved meats, other agricultural products, and even water.

Irradiation of food is not a new concept, having been around since the sun's energy was first used to dry food, and is commonly found today in the form of microwaves. However, there are new x-ray technologies that allegedly are capable of killing 99.999 percent of the bacteria found in leafy vegetables, tomatoes, ground beef, peanuts, flour, and many other food products.

Called irradiation or "cold pasteurization", it operates on the principle of short energy wavelengths that kill bacteria and the process has no known side effects showing damage to the produce or to the health and well-being of people who will consume it. Unfortunately, although some irradiation is being used on a few products, testing is ongoing and these machines are not yet available for mass productional use on all produce that is grown for use in the United States or elsewhere.

In the meantime, the food industry is hard at work on finding new methods of safely growing and protecting the food we eat. Using a combination of science, technology, and the re-examination of old and time-tested ways of accomplishing this goal, the focus is on making the elimination of bacteria more efficient and food to be completely bacteria free.

Sources:
Foodborne illness, Wikipedia, 18 December 2009
Food Poisoning, University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), 25 January 2008
Bacteriophages, Food & Water Watch, 10 September 2009
New x-ray machines may kill food bacteria, prevent outbreaks, By Jessica Knoblauch, February 24 2009
Simple Device Can Ensure Food Gets To The Store Bacteria Free, ScienceDaily, March 5 2009