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Blue LEDs Are the Future of Food Preservation

posted by janrinok on Friday August 07 2015, @07:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the blue-lightsaber-to-the-rescue dept.

AnonTechie writes:

Blue LEDs, once confined to the world of digital displays and Blu-ray players, have just found a new calling: food preservation. New research at the National University of Singapore shows the potential of using blue LEDs as a chemical-free method to kill bacteria that lead to spoilage.

Earlier this year, public concern about artificial preservatives pushed fast-food restaurants like McDonald's, Subway, and Panera to seriously rethink the ways they keep their food fresh. Using blue LEDs could potentially kill the same bacteria that preservatives do without any of the scary, outrage-rousing chemicals.

The researchers looked at the effect of blue LED exposure on three of the major colonies of bugs that cause food to rot and stomachs to turn: Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella. Their paper, published in the journal Food Microbiology, showed that the blue lights succeeded in inactivating the bacteria, with even better results in cold temperatures and acidic conditions. Foods like fresh-cut fruit, chilled meats, and ready-to-eat seafood, like sushi and lox, could all someday benefit from the pathogen-killing lights.

https://www.inverse.com/article/5154-blue-leds-are-the-future-of-food-preservation

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2015, @10:09PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2015, @10:09PM (#219705)

    My understanding is that most bacteria that spoils food is aerobic. This means they need oxygen to survive in any real number. That is available in large quantities at the surface of meats, but not so much near the center (which makes sense as to why we need circulatory systems and cramp when we exercise). Therefore, most bacteria grow near the surface. However, there are exceptions to this rule, like ground meat and whole birds, which are more likely to get you sick because they have more surface area and small pieces.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2015, @11:58PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2015, @11:58PM (#219721)

    You generally cramp when you exercise because you're breathing wrong.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 08 2015, @02:11AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 08 2015, @02:11AM (#219769)

      I.e. a lack of oxygen in your muscles.