Food bugs overcharged by ions

Bombarding food with negatively or positively charged air ions destroys pathogens and bacteria.

At the UK's Institute of Food Research, Reading, microbiologist Jane Sutherland is leading a Link project to investigate this process, with Jonathan Copus of equipment manufacturer Dentron.

`We know that the technique destroys a range of bacteria, moulds and it can control dental caries,' says Sutherland. `Now, we are investigating whether it works on food-poisoning bacteria and how it affects food quality.'

Sutherland believes that negatively charged `superoxide radical anions' may damage the layers of fatty acids that hold the cell together, causing them to break up.

She is working to optimise parameters such as charge of ion, exposure time, and ion intensity.

If the process works with food spoilage organisms and food-borne pathogens, her aim will then be to scale-up the process to semi-production level, which could involve an array of ion emitters over a conveyor belt, with a tumbling facility.

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