The dreadful food poisoning outbreak that started in Germany and has now killed more than 40 people and made thousands ill in several countries provides a terrible reminder that, despite our greater knowledge about food pathogens and increased vigilance of health and safety practices, foodstuffs are still vulnerable to contamination.
The bacteria responsible has proved to be a particularly virulent strain of E.coli and tracking the source across global supply chains has proved difficult. Furthermore, wrongly identified sources saw a massive commercial hit for some trading nations.
Edible seeds are now thought to be the cause. Such raw foodstuffs are particularly vulnerable to bacterial contamination. Disinfection techniques for seeds vary from country to country: whether based on washing with disinfectants or submitting products to irradiation, these techniques are not without limitations and safety issues.
How timely, then, is the Institute of Food Research’s latest review of cold plasma techniques for killing that other common food pathogen salmonella. Here research has shown that while cold plasma can kill such pathogens, its effectiveness can decrease when salmonella numbers increase, and the mechanisms involved need to be better understood if it is to be accepted as a disinfection technique.
Whatever the technology used - cold plasma, pulsed light or other forms of irradiation and disinfection - recent events have shown that today’s global supply chain needs to be backed up by equally smart track & trace technologies to ensure swifter action can be taken.