cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
This coating for surfaces could prevent food poisoning - Futurity
A coating made from titanium dioxide can eliminate foodborne germs like Salmonella and E. coli from surfaces, report researchers.
In the future, a durable coating could help keep food-contact surfaces clean in the food processing industry, including in meat processing plants.
“I knew that other researchers had developed antimicrobial coatings this way, but they hadn’t focused on the coatings’ mechanical resistance or durability,” says Eduardo Torres Dominguez, a doctoral student in chemical engineering at the University of Missouri College of Engineering and College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources.
“In the presence of ultraviolet light, oxygen, and water, the titanium dioxide will activate to kill bacteria from the food contact surfaces on which it is applied. Although the coating is applied as a liquid at the beginning of the process, once it is ready to use it becomes a hard material, like a thin layer of ceramic.”
A coating made from titanium dioxide can eliminate foodborne germs like Salmonella and E. coli from surfaces, report researchers.
In the future, a durable coating could help keep food-contact surfaces clean in the food processing industry, including in meat processing plants.
“I knew that other researchers had developed antimicrobial coatings this way, but they hadn’t focused on the coatings’ mechanical resistance or durability,” says Eduardo Torres Dominguez, a doctoral student in chemical engineering at the University of Missouri College of Engineering and College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources.
“In the presence of ultraviolet light, oxygen, and water, the titanium dioxide will activate to kill bacteria from the food contact surfaces on which it is applied. Although the coating is applied as a liquid at the beginning of the process, once it is ready to use it becomes a hard material, like a thin layer of ceramic.”