Tomato Film Prevents E. Coli Contamination
By Vanessa Richins
The stories show up in the media - some new food has been found to be contaminated with E.coli.
While most varieties of E.coli are actually harmless, some are quite dangerous.
Illness and sometimes even deaths occur before the outbreak can be contained.
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service and the Western Regional Research Center, Processed Foods have been experimenting with a film made from a mixture of tomato puree and carvacrol (the main ingredient in oregano oil). The film was placed onto an agar plate, then swabbed with E.coli.
The results were surprising. On plates without the film, E.coli grew within one to two days. On plates containing film with .75-1% carvacrol, no E.coli growth occurred.
“Demand for natural antimicrobial produces is growing as consumers become increasingly wary of synthetic preservatives. The researchers noted that since the antimicrobial film tested in their study is tomato-based, it might actually provide some of the same health benefits as eating the fruit . . . Consumption of tomatoes, tomato products and isolated bioactive tomato ingredients is reported to be associated with lowered risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and hypertension,” they said.”
The researchers are now working with other fruits and vegetables to see if they can provide the same antibacterial protection.
While no method is 100% foolproof, this new tomato film sounds very promising for inhibiting the growth of E.coli. An added bonus is that it is completely natural. Hopefully this will help ensure that our food supply is safer.
