Will Copper Keep Us Safe From the Superbugs?
Three papers scheduled for publication in the January issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection , published by Elsevier, suggest that copper might have a role in the fight against healthcare-associated infections.
In a busy Birmingham teaching hospital, researchers swapped a conventional toilet seat, tap-handles and a ward door push-plate for similar items made from 70% copper. They compared the number of microbes on the copper surfaces against the number of bacteria on the same items from another ward and found that the copper surfaces had 90-100% fewer live bacteria than the non-copper surfaces.
Similar findings were reported from a primary healthcare facility in the Western Cape, South Africa. Researchers there found 71% fewer microbes on frequently touched surfaces overlaid with copper sheets (a desk, trolley, cupboard and window sill) compared with corresponding items made with conventional materials. (more…)
Plasma Field Used to Keep Food Bacteria Free
Kevin Keener’s in-bag ozonation method creates ozone in packaged foods by using high-voltage coils to charge the gas inside sealed food packages, effectively killing any bacteria inside them. (Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
by Brian Wallheimer
A Purdue University researcher has found a way to eliminate bacteria in packaged foods such as spinach and tomatoes, a process that could eliminate worries concerning some food-borne illnesses.
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 major public health concerns.
Keener’s process is outlined in an article released online early in LWT - Food Science and Technology, a journal for the Swiss Society of Food and Technology and the International Union of Food Science and Technology. (more…)
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