Chitosan extracted from crustacean is expected to be used to prevent a kind of food poisoning

Clostridium perfringens food poisoning is the second most common bacterial foodborne disease in the United States, affecting millions of people every year An international research team has found that chitosan, a natural carbohydrate extracted from crustaceans, is expected to be an effective "weapon" against food poisoning caused by Clostridium perfringens Clostridium perfringens are found in the soil, in decaying plants, and in the intestines of vertebrates If the meat is not cooked or preserved properly, it may cause Clostridium perfringens to multiply If people eat the meat, they will be poisoned and suffer from abdominal pain, diarrhea and other symptoms Researchers from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Thailand reported in the British Journal of food microbiology that they respectively observed Clostridium perfringens in the laboratory culture medium and cooked chicken polluted by Clostridium perfringens in 37 ℃ environment for several hours, recording the life cycle of Clostridium perfringens in both environments The results showed that Clostridium perfringens could produce a kind of persistent spore which was in metabolic dormancy state, and many food processing methods could not kill it However, chitosan extracted from shrimp and other crustaceans can not only prevent the growth of Clostridium perfringens in cooked chicken, but also inhibit the germination and growth of spores One of the researchers, mahzufu Saar of Oregon State University, said that in the laboratory environment, low concentration of chitosan can work; in cooked chicken, because chicken contains many ingredients that inhibit the activity of chitosan, it needs a higher concentration of chitosan to volatilize antibacterial effect This is the first time that chitosan has been observed to have a consistent antibacterial effect in the laboratory environment and in cooked chicken, saakar said The researchers will next study the effect of chitosan in other meat and meat products, and optimize the conditions for the use of chitosan, such as whether it works better with sorbic acid, benzoic acid and other food preservatives.