New Strategy To Delay Food Spoilage: Application Of New Food Contact Material With
Antibacterial Function
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang 110016, China, Shi-changxu Innovation Center for Advanced Materials,
Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China, Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan 528000, China
Originality/Novelty
All the authors did their own research and viewed
the results and findings differently, making this
study original. They did this by referencing
previous studies that used antibacterial materials
and relating it to their study on preventing food
from spoiling faster.
Issue
• Food poisoning and the development of food-
borne illnesses caused by microbial
contamination of food also emerged as a major
concealed threat to public health.
• Microbial invasions in food can come from a
variety of places, including soil, air, and water,
as well as a reservoir of bacteria that collect in
the raw ingredients
• Food poisoning is caused by pathogenic bacteria
that live as parasites in humans, animals, and
plants which can contaminate food through
respiration and excretion
• Consuming contaminated food and water will
cause a detrimental effect on one's health and
one will suffer from diarrhea, nausea, fever, and
so on.
• Food contact materials are used throughout the
food manufacturing process. They may quickly
become a key source of exogenous microbial
contamination of food and very vital to protect
the health and safety of food contact materials.
• The introduction of Cu-bearing antibacterial
stainless steel (SS) has created a new material
platform to tackle such difficulties in the food
arena.
• To successfully handle the problems of microbial
contamination of food and the spread of food-
borne diseases, we use the antibacterial ability of
Cu-bearing SS as well as its function of
suppressing biofilm formation.
Problem Statement
There are still some problems during food
processing such as the initial bacteria in food raw
materials being relatively high which can make
some people food poisoning. Some of the initial
surfaces of equipment that in direct contact with
food. Other than that, these problem makes it easy
for bacteria to accumulate in the processing
environment. Thus, Copper (Cu) and its
compounds have excellent antibacterial and
antifouling functions and various Cu-containing
antibacterial products have come.
Hypothesis
This study simulated typical food interaction
conditions with Cu-bearing antibacterial SS to see
if its use as a new food contact material could
reduce microbial contamination.
Objective
To propose alternatives for developing a new
antiseptic and fresh-keeping technology in the
food industry by preventing microbiological
processes, which will provide a scientific
theoretical foundation for the application of Cu-
bearing antibacterial SS.
Question
• What are the main causes of food safety?
• What role may food contact materials create in
the food industry and in daily life?
• What are the most effective and useful food
contact applications for preventing food
spoilage?
• What function does Stainless Steel (SS) have in
preventing microbiological contamination and
the spread of foodborne pathogens?
• How can Cu-bearing SS reduce the appearance
of damaging attributes and bacterial growth?
Xinrui Zhang , Xiaofang Liu, Chunguang Yan, Tong Xib, Jinlong Zhao, Lichu Liu, Ke Yang
The microorganism and bacteria culture
was stored at 80°C before activation and
was disolved in Luria-Bertani (LB) liquid
medium at Ph from 72 until 7.4
All the data of tests were presented as
standard deviation and were processed by
software SPSS 2.0 to access the statistical
Results
a. Cu-bearing SS could delay food spoilage by
inhibiting microbial activity in food
• Chicken
• The meat quality changed after 3 days on 304
SS, from the original elastic and shiny
appearance to a sticky surface with mucus
spilling and a nasty smell.
• Chicken leaching solution conductivity increased
with incubation time, which was generally lower
on 304-Cu SS than on 304 SS.
• After additional analysis of the changes in total
bacterial count in chicken, it was found that after
3 days, the total bacterial count for the 304 SS
group had reached 6.09 lg CFU g-1.
• In the 304-Cu SS group, given the fact that a
temperature of 37°C can speed the spoilage of
chicken to some point, the overall bacterial count
only increased by an order of magnitude when
compared to the original chicken.
• The morphological changes in E. coli after
incubation with Cu-bearing SS were seen using a
transmission electron microscope (TEM). Almost
all the bacteria had membrane leaks, and others
had almost no cytoplasm left.
• Dairy
• All the findings showed that Cu-bearing
antibacterial SS could successfully prevent the
spread of microorganisms in milk and thus delay
the spoilage of milk, regardless of sensory
quality, total bacterial count, or acidity of milk
after different incubation times.
 
b. Cu-bearing SS could form a bacteriostatic
atmosphere in food surroundings by interfering
with bacterial quorum-sensing (QS) signals.
• Cu-bearing antibacterial SS substantially reduced
microbial growth and reproduction in foods that met
it.
• After three days, the rice with a regular SS spoon
was entirely mouldy and full of spoilage bacteria,
but the rice with an antibacterial SS spoon had just
a mild odour and no visible spoilage bacterial
development, whether in touch with the spoon or
away from it.
• The biomass in biofilms generated on the surfaces
of antibacterial and regular SS was investigated
using a biofilm formation device.
• The biofilm system's creation of the QS signal AI-2
was measured. The amount of AI-2 signal in the
biofilm adhering to the surface of antibacterial SS
was found to be substantially lower than in regular
SS.
• The cell-free supernatant containing AI-2 signal
was treated in various ways and variations in AI-2
signal activity were found in different treatment
groups. The AI-2 signal was shown to be unstable
when exposed to the external environment.
• The signal activity was dramatically reduced after
adding H2O2 and showed a declining trend with
increasing incubation time.
c. Biosafety
• The concentration of Cu ions released from the
present studied 304-Cu SS in a phosphate buffer
solution (PBS) was 14 µg L−1 day−1 and was only 32
µg L−1 day-1 even in the bacterial suspension with a
concentration of 105 CFU mL−1.
Research Flow
The sample and petri dishes were used in
The acidity of milk was measured then
this experiment and sterilized at 121°C
incubation method and result are summarized
for 20 min and slice chicken was spread
in the supplementry data.
out sample and then incubated
Antibacterial SS and ordinary SS sample were separately
put into plate and bacterial suspension with concentration
was added into each sample and incubated at 37°C.
significance
Findings
a. Cu-bearing SS could delay food spoilage by inhibiting microbial activity in
food
• Chicken
• The large difference in total bacterial count suggests that antibacterial SS
could more effectively suppress spoilage bacteria in chickens. Contact-killing
Cu-bearing SS inhibited chicken spoilage effectively. Cu ions can damage
bacterial cell membranes, causing membrane leakage and cell rupture.[1,2].
• If Cu-containing antibacterial SS can replace standard SS as a food contact
material, it will create great opportunities for antibacterial SS to indicate its
contact-killing bacteria performance, which immediately and efficiently
inactivates the source of microbial contamination, restricts the development of
spoilage bacteria in food, and effectively postpones food deterioration.
- Dairy
• Milk and chicken have different environments. The liquid media allowed the
antibacterial SS to limit bacterial activity upon contact and encouraged the
diffusion of dissolved Cu ions and the steel's continuous release of
antibacterial Cu ions.
• Rapid antimicrobial action prevented bacteria from adhering to Cu-containing
SS. These results show that using Cu-bearing SS in dairy production can
increase anti-fouling and cleaning capabilities, which may help purify milk.
 
b.Cu-bearing SS could form a bacteriostatic atmosphere in food surroundings
by interfering with bacterial QS signals
• Microorganism-caused rice spoilage is caused by QS regulation of one or more
bacterial communities. When the number of Gram-negative bacterial colonies in
food reaches 6 lg CFU mL -1, the QS signal molecule is released.
• Standard SS has no antibacterial properties for food contact. Food
microorganisms emit QS signals, regulate bacterial growth, and create biofilms.
As the biofilm matured and fell off, many bacterial colonies grew around it.
• This study focused on how Cu-bearing SS inhibits QS signals and biofilm
formation, creating a bacteriostatic atmosphere.
• Antibacterial SS can reduce QS signal secretion by limiting bacterial activity and
biomass formation or stop QS signal release. Antibacterial SS could delay the
start of QS regulation mode for spoilage bacteria and inhibit the formation and
spread of biofilm, delaying food spoilage and providing a bacteriostatic
atmosphere beneficial to processing and storage.
• Antibacterial SS inhibits bacterial growth, indicating its outstanding anti-fouling
ability. Its use in food environments could prevent food contamination from the
material.
 
c. Biosafety
• In the Council of Europe's metals and alloys policy review, Cu migration from
metals into food is 3 mg day-1 [3]. EPA limits Cu in drinking water to1300 gL−1
day-1 [4], and the National Academy of Sciences Committee recommends 0.9 mg
day-1 for humans [5]. The amount of Cu ions released from the Cu-bearing SS in
this study is considerably below the stated bio-safety limits and the amount
required by the human body, implying that using Cu-bearing SS as a food
contact material is safe.
Conclusion
According to this study, food contact materials are the most common source of food
contamination. Several food contact applications, particularly Cu-bearing SS, have
a high potential for controlling food damage. Cu-bearing SS inhibits bacterial QS
signaling in response to environmental change, controlling bacterial growth and
preventing food spoilage. Cu-bearing SS can control food microorganisms by
forming connected biofilms in food. Cu-bearing SS is a common application in food
sectors, and metallic materials may bring new food care and safety techniques.
Reference
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