Scientists discover natural agent that kills bacteria in food

sauce(s ource)

Researchers at the University of Minnesota reported the discovery of bisin - a naturally-occurring compound produced by some types of bacteria.

The agent reduces the growth of bacteria including E. coli, salmonella and listeria and could lead to sandwiches that stay fresh for more than a year, the UK Sunday Times reported.

The discovery also means that opened wine and products such as fresh salad dressing could last much longer - in some cases for as long as several years.

Great

Now you can eat food that would have gone off and rotted if left in its natural state.

Some will say this is good for food security,

But my view is that this is wrong, and is another reason to grow your own or go organic.

Nature and the environment have a balance, It's a big world but that balance is a fine one.
if something should rot after a certain time...
leave things alone.

Who will research the effects of this to your internals, or the millions of bacteria that live inside us and keep us alive.

reply to post by CitizenNum287119327


i agree with you sir.
thanks for bringing to my attention.

there is one little thing that bothers me most about this article and that is the following quote

Because bisin is chemically related to nisin, which is used to keep processed cheese sterile and edible for decades, it does not need to be pharmaceutically tested and could be on the market within a year.

why doesn´t it need testing?
simply because it's related to a substance we know doesn't make it harmless.

if i'm mistaken someone sure will enlighten me

Well I know that should I manage to survive when TSHTF long enough I'd be pretty content to find me a stash of preserved breads and what not, to go with the canned goods that are preserved also.

I mean, WE don't need food to last longer, we already throw out more than we use so surely the idea is for survival ideas or long journeys where food will be limited?

I dunno, but I don't bag the idea right off.

Two things pop into my mind on this like a bad horror flick. First, if this bug kills the disease bugs, what does THIS do when we eat it? I'd love to assume they'll answer all those questions ad naseum before if lands on the first food for the public but..ehh...I guess we'll find out when we eat it, if nothing else.

The other thing is that I hope they've learned with the reckless abandon the world has taken with spreading antibiotics through every part of the Environment. This sounds great to use, particularly in the most important locations. Hospitals, Schools and Military food supply chains come to mind.

I just wonder how long it'll take for all the bugs to learn how to kill this one if it's just thrown out there like everything else and no controls are used with it.

Bisin, Nisin....................sounds to close to Ricin !!!!!!!!!

We all know what that does,.....especially on the tips of various umbrellas...

en.wikipedia.org...

Regards

PDUK

reply to post by klenker

I think you are being too generous, personally. I don't think it's about anything as decent as consideration for long term storage and the ability of citizens to preserve stocks for the future. I think it's as simple as money and profits. If they can measurably reduce the waste that every stage from the field to the grocery store generates in rot and out of date food, then everyone makes more money. They'll just have to hope it doesn't hurt us, I suppose..

Watch the bacteria get out of hand and start growing on crops, or some less than average IQ puts it on his crops, and now all plants are immortal, or they might even purposefully introduce it to crops actually

reply to post by CitizenNum287119327


I agree with you as well, grow your own food or go organic. No way would I want to eat a sandwhich that could be a year old...however, for countries and people that have no choice, I think this would go a long way. Beggers can't be choosers and this could stop a lot of people from starving to death.

reply to post by Authenticated


Oh wow, that hadn't even crossed my mind, what a valid and resourceful point!

My main concern with this substance is what does it do to the good bacteria in your gut? If it kills good bacteria in your gut expect to get even less nutrition out of your food.

Millions of types of bacteria live in us, on us and around us all the time. They are as
natural a part of the enviroment as the very air we breath. Trying to manage or reduce
them from our food stuffs is likely to cause more harm than good in the long run.

The replies I saw tells me that some here do selective reading. Natural occuring agent that comes from some types of bacteria. And this agent seems to do well against well-known pathogenics and stop them from overtaking our food. Nothing related to antibiotics or antibacterials.

The title of the linked article is quite misleading because there's a difference between reducing growth and killing.

The agent reduces the growth of bacteria

Compared to mainstream preservatives, it is like sugar.

reply to post by Atzil321


It is already managed in that way. All the food you eat already contains none to little of the listed harmful bacterias which are targeted by the said agent.

reply to post by CitizenNum287119327

Now you can eat food that would have gone off and rotted if left in its natural state. Some will say this is good for food security, But my view is that this is wrong, and is another reason to grow your own or go organic.

So why don't you eat the food that went bad in it's natural state?

"It [bisin] seems to be much better than anything which has gone before," O'Sullivan said. "It doesn't compromise nutrient quality. We are not adding a chemical - we are adding a natural ingredient."

Because bisin is chemically related to nisin, which is used to keep processed cheese sterile and edible for decades, it does not need to be pharmaceutically tested and could be on the market within a year.

Please tell me how the above external quote has anything related to food that isn't organic. It is naturally occurring, no different than eating the good mold that grows on bread or cheese really. You will notice here that the definition of Organic Food here, would not rule out the use of bisin.

For the OP:

If you come down with a potentially fatal bacteria infection, would you refuse penicillin because it isolated in a lab?

Originally posted by Atzil321
Millions of types of bacteria live in us, on us and around us all the time. They are as
natural a part of the enviroment as the very air we breath. Trying to manage or reduce
them from our food stuffs is likely to cause more harm than good in the long run.

There is good bacteria and bad bacteria. There is a reason people are encouraged to eat bacterial cultures from yogurt, and not the bacteria culture from your floor.

Eliminating bad bacteria and encouraging growth of good bacteria is an area of science that should be researched intensively, and acted upon.

Originally posted by PurpleDog UK
Bisin, Nisin....................sounds to close to Ricin !!!!!!!!!

We all know what that does,.....especially on the tips of various umbrellas...

en.wikipedia.org...

Regards

PDUK

edit on 14-8-2011 by PurpleDog UK because: (no reason given)

Was just thinking that as I scrolled down!!!
Good job!

reply to post by boncho


You sir...

Are a mental giant.

aaaaAAAAA!!!!

reply to post by CitizenNum287119327

Sounds like a horrible idea to me.
I be this will also kill the good bacterias as well as the ones you have in your own gut.

It is really sad how the quality of our food keeps deteriorating when it should be opposite.

reply to post by boncho

So why don't you eat the food that went bad in it's natural state?

Because I enjoy fresh food. I will leave "the food that went bad" to the chickens, pigs, or the compost bin.
Do you eat food the went bad???

Please tell me how the above external quote has anything related to food that isn't organic. It is naturally occurring, no different than eating the good mold that grows on bread or cheese really.

You would need an answer from the writer of the external quote. I didn't write it. I understand that bisin is natural, and would be on organic food. As I said, I enjoy fresh food.

Thanks for your reply to my post.
Cheers.

reply to post by CitizenNum287119327

I understand that bisin is natural, and would be on organic food. As I said, I enjoy fresh food.

Bisin would keep the food fresher for longer. That is the whole idea. Just as leaving your food in the fridge keeps in fresher for longer. At one time, they did not have refrigerators. I only see this as a good thing.

Also, it is possible this could be a natural alternative to keeping down bacterial growth in meat processing plants. You remember all the food poisoning that recently happened? Bingo...