Consumers may soon be able to go for longer between milk-buying trips. That's because Brazilian company Agrindus hopes to start marketing plastic milk bottles that use embedded silver nanoparticles to kill bacteria. Grade A pasteurized fresh whole milk packaged in those bottles can reportedly last for up to 15 days, as opposed to the usual seven.
The technology was developed by partner company Nanox, and involves first coating silica ceramic particles with silver nanoparticles. This reportedly has a synergistic effect, with the silica boosting the antimicrobial properties of the silver.
Those coated particles take the form of a powder that is subsequently mixed into liquid polyethylene. Using blow- or injection-molding, that plastic is then made into bottles which Agrindus plans to sell to dairy goods companies. The particles can also be used to make milk bags, which should extend shelf life from four to 10 days.
(Score: 2) by penguinoid on Thursday August 06 2015, @11:42AM
If you want your milk to last a long time, ultra-pasteurized milk will last for years unrefrigerated. Until you open it. But the silver nanoparticles should work on opened milk too.
My main concern is that you can get silver poisoning -- although I imagine this will be tested for exactly that.
RIP Slashdot. Killed by greedy bastards.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday August 06 2015, @06:49PM
Silver in the doses you would get would be negligible. The only issue I could see is, if you are allergic to silver.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"