MICROBIAL FOOD PRESERVATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

A food preservation system and method comprise the use of at least one structure configured to be affixed to a food storage space, at least one microbe disposed on the at least one structure, and at least one container for sealing food in which the at least one structure and the at least one microbe are contained.

Claims

1. A food preservation system, comprising: at least one structure configured to be affixed to a food storage space; at least one microbe disposed on the at least one structure, wherein the at least one microbe is one of an aerobic, anaerobic, or facultative type microbe; and at least one container for sealing food in which the at least one structure and the at least one microbe are contained.

2. The food preservation system of claim 1, wherein the at least one microbe is selected from the group consisting of Nocardia sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Enterobacteriaceae sp., Bordatella sp., Campylobacter, Helicobacter, and Borrelia burgdorferi.

3. The food preservation system of claim 1, wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of rods, brushes, plates, and spheres.

4. The food preservation system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of microbes of which two are different types of microbes.

5. The food preservation system of claim 4, wherein at least one of the plurality of microbes is selected from the group consisting of Nocardia sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Enterobacteriaceae sp., Bordatella sp., Campylobacter, Helicobacter, and Borrelia burgdorferi.

6. The food preservation system of claim 5, wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of rods, brushes, plates, and spheres.

7. The food preservation system of claim 1, wherein the container has substantially no oxygen therein while also containing a food product.

8. The food preservation system of claim 1, wherein the container has substantially no water therein while also containing a food product.

9. The food preservation system of claim 1, wherein the container has substantially no rust therein while also containing a food product.

10. The food preservation system of claim 1, wherein the container has substantially no oxygen and substantially no water therein while also containing a food product.

11. A food preservation method, comprising the steps of: containing a food product in a container; exposing at least one microbe disposed on a structure to the atmosphere within the container; and reducing one of oxygen, water, or rust in the container via the at least one microbe.

12. The food preservation method of claim 11, wherein the at least one microbe is selected from the group consisting of Nocardia sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Enterobacteriaceae sp., Bordatella sp., Campylobacter, Helicobacter, and Borrelia burgdorferi.

13. The food preservation method of claim 11, wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of rods, brushes, plates, and spheres.

14. The food preservation method of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of microbes of which two are different types of microbes.

15. The food preservation method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the plurality of microbes is selected from the group consisting of Nocardia sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Enterobacteriaceae sp., Bordatella sp., Campylobacter, Helicobacter, and Borrelia burgdorferi.

16. The food preservation method of claim 15, wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of rods, brushes, plates, and spheres.

17. The food preservation method of claim 11, further comprising the step of removing substantially all oxygen from within the container.

18. The food preservation method of claim 11, further comprising the step of removing substantially all water from within the container.

19. The food preservation method of claim 11, further comprising the step of removing substantially all rust from within the container.

20. The food preservation method of claim 11, further comprising the step of removing substantially all oxygen and water from within the container.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] A further understanding of the present disclosure can be obtained by reference to embodiments set forth in the illustrations of the accompanying figures. The illustrated embodiments are merely exemplary of methods, structures, and compositions for carrying out the present disclosure. Both the organization and method of the disclosure, in general, together with further objectives and advantages thereof, may be more easily understood by reference to the figures and the following detailed description section. The figures are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure, which is set forth with particularity in the claims as appended or as subsequently amended, but merely to clarify and exemplify the disclosure.

[0056] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following figures in which:

[0057] FIG. 1 illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0058] FIG. 2 illustrates a diagrammatic method of operation of an embodiment of the invention using cross-section x-x in FIG. 1.

[0059] FIG. 3 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0060] FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0061] In the drawings, like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures. The drawing figures, elements and other depictions should be understood as being interchangeable and may be combined in any like manner in accordance with the disclosures and objectives recited herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention that are illustrated in the accompanying figures. Wherever possible, the same or similar characters of reference (which may be in numerical or alphanumerical format) are used in the figures and the written description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. The figures are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. The figures are non-limiting examples of the disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure and corresponding parts or steps in the different figures may be interchanged and interrelated to the extent such interrelationship is described or inherent from the disclosures contained herein. The specific functional and structural details disclosed herein are merely representative, yet in that regard, they are deemed to afford the best embodiment for purposes of disclosure and to provide a basis for the claims herein, which define the scope of the present disclosure.

[0063] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention as illustratively provided for in FIG. 1, at least one species of microbe 2 may be placed onto an object 5 and locating the same in a space 3 adjacent a food product 4. Preferably, the microbe is an aerobe, such as, for example, Nocardia sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Enterobacteriaceae sp., Bordatella sp., Campylobacter, Helicobacter, and Borrelia burgdorferi. Alternatively, the microbes may be a combination of aerobes and facultative anaerobes. According to the aforementioned illustrative embodiment, a majority of the microbes 2 located on support 5 would have the ability to consume oxygen and/or other gases within space 3 known in the art to degrade food.

[0064] An exemplary function of a disclosed system may be illustratively provided for in FIG. 2. An exemplary support 5 may be covered with a biofilm 2A, which may be comprised of a plurality of microbes 2. Such a biofilm 2A when disposed on support 5 may cause reductions in oxygen-containing specie such as air or water through microbe 2 metabolism of the same. As a result, the biofilm-covered support 5 may reduce the food degrading effects of oxygen in a storage space by removing the activated oxygen specie through metabolism. Removal of these active oxygen specie also provide additional downstream benefits of reducing propensity for iron supports to rust during conversion of iron to iron oxide. While FIG. 2 may show a cross-section of an exemplary support structure 5, any kind and variety of support structures may have the same or similar cross-sections with similar chemical functionalities.

[0065] Adhesion of a microbe 2 or combination of microbes 2 to a support 5 (or 6 as described elsewhere) is known in the art, as provided for in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,409,838, 5,089,413, and 4,565,783, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. With respect to supports 5 that are spherical, cylindrical, or otherwise have curved surfaces, a microbe 2 may be adhered by spraying or brushing the adhering powders and gels to the surface of the support 5. With respect to supports 5 that have flat or recessed surfaces, a particular microbe 2 growth culture may be placed onto such surfaces. A combination of either coating methods may be employed for purposes of the present invention. In an alternative embodiment, selective adhesion and removal of microbes 2 from a support 5 may be desirable, for which there exist known technologies, such as, for example, the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,920,353, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0066] Microbe 2 may live off of a food source (not shown) disposed on support 5/6, such as glucose or acetate, or through the byproducts of metabolism of adjacent and co-existing microbes. Alternatively, microbe 2 may be a type of autotroph that can use atmospheric CO.sub.2 as its food source (e.g., carbon), either disposed on support 5/6 or as byproducts of neighboring microbe metabolism. In a preferred embodiment, microbe 2 is adequately separated from food 4 so as not to cause food 4 to be the source of food for microbe 2. As illustratively provided for in FIG. 3, a permeable membrane 7 may exist between food product 4 and microbe 2 located on a support 6. Configurations and design of appropriate membranes for separating microbes 2 from food 4 are known to those skilled in the art.

[0067] As further illustrated in FIG. 3, an exemplary support 6 may have increased surface area for reception of oxygen from air and/or water located in the containment 3. As such, supports 6 that take the form of brushes, finned structures, and/or branched or multi-grooved structures may increase contact between a resulting biofilm 2A and the containment 3 environment. Furthermore, strategic placement of microbes about a support 6 may increase the synergistic capabilities of the microbes 2 when used in combination.

[0068] In other embodiments, some form of iron may be part of the storage container 3, either flat, long, circular shapes to maximize surface area, in order to maximize oxidation reactions and/or microbe placement. Instead of using iron powders as was done in the prior art, the system herein described allows for the existence of a biofilm on the iron scaffolding structure. When the iron undergoes rusting (reacting with oxygen in the air), the microbes on the biofilm may be of the type that consume iron, e.g., chemolithotrophs, Halomonas titanicae, etc.

[0069] In an exemplary embodiment, an exemplary food preservation system may utilize different microbes 2 with different rates and chemical instigation of metabolism. For example, as illustratively provided for in FIG. 4, a plurality of microbes (2.sub.i, 2.sub.ii, 2.sub.iii, and 2.sub.iv) may have differing rates and chemical metabolisms and/or may work in combination to simultaneously reduce the propensity for the container environment to degrade food while also increasing the longevity of the microbes. As may be envisioned from the illustrative disclosures of FIG. 4, a suitably configured support 6 may carry a plurality of microbes either individually or in biofilm sections on its various surfaces. A first microbe/biofilm section 2.sub.i may be utilized to remove oxygen from air within the container 3 surrounding support 6. The resultant carbon dioxide from metabolism of microbes in section 2.sub.i may be used as a source of food for microbes in biofilm section 2.sub.ii, which may have the same propensity to remove oxygen (or other food degradative elements) from container 3. Microbes in biofilm section 2.sub.iii may be used to remove rust (iron (III) oxide) with a resulting by-product of water, which, when metabolized by proximal biofilm section containing microbe 2.sub.iv, is further metabolized so as to remove the oxygen therefrom. As the diagrammatic representation illustratively disclosed by FIG. 4 may show, the multivarious and strategic placement of microbes about a structure may advantageously maximize the metabolism of the separate microbes so as to generate synergies and efficiencies, e.g., adjacent placement of microbes that consume oxygen, microbes that consume water, microbes that consume iron (III) oxide, and combinations of the same.

[0070] The exemplary system disclosed may be used to extend food storage by changing the air composition through microbial metabolism. As an environmental modification means, microbial oxidation does not require additional energy input (such as electricity) and may be self-functional and self-sustaining. However, it is contemplated that the disclosed microbial mechanisms may be used alone or in combination with previously-described methods to preserve foods in a storage environment, e.g., freezing, vacuum sealing, subjecting the food to inert gases such as Argon.

[0071] It is well known that microbes consume oxygen at levels of micromoles of oxygen (O.sub.2) per colony-forming unit (CFU) per day depending on the microbe's aerobic capacities, such as, for example between 210.sup.7 and 110.sup.6 mol O.sub.2/CFU/day for facultative anaerobic bacteria (e.g., E. coli K-12, S. oneidensis MR-1, and M. aquaeolei VT8). Other studies showed that oxygen uptake rate (OUR) for L. gelidum subsp. Gelidum (an aerobe) could reach nearly 5.5 mg O.sub.2/liter for 6.010.sup.7 CFU/ml. It is known that B. thermosphacta can consume up to 0.748 pg of O.sub.2 per hour per cell, L. gelidum subsp. Gelidum 0.32 pg of O.sub.2 per hour per cell, and C. divergens can consume up to 0.19 pg of O.sub.2 per hour per cell. Others have reported oxygen consumption (QO.sub.2) for bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, as 20 mmol O.sub.2/gram dry weight of cell (GDW)/hour. Other oxygen uptake rates and figures are also provided for in Greig and Hoogerheide, The Correlation of Bacterial Growth with Oxygen Consumption, J Bacteriol. 1941 May; 41(5): 549-556, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. As provided in Greig and Hoogerheide, the following bacterium have the corresponding oxygen uptakes: (i) Escherichia coli in 1% bactophene, 1% lactate, phosphate-buffer M/10, pH 7.0. 30 C.-24 mm.sup.3 O.sub.2/hour/10.sup.8 bacteria, (ii) Willia anomala 4205 Fleishmanns, 1% yeast extract, 1% glucose, 30 C.-308 mm.sup.3 O.sub.2/hour/10.sup.8 bacteria, (iii) Proteus vulgaris in 1% bactophene, 1% lactate, 37 C.-30 mm.sup.3O.sub.2/hour/10.sup.8 bacteria.

[0072] With increase in colony growth (CFU and/or GDW), one can expect a corresponding increase in total oxygen consumption for the space (e.g., the preservation container). To increase the rate of oxygen removal from a storage space, one may utilize the various approaches discussed previously, such as vacuum removal of air from the storage space in combination with the provision of a corresponding mass of bacteria. Accordingly, the combination of microbe usage and known vacuuming techniques creates synergies not otherwise provided for in the contemporary art.

[0073] Many further variations and modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art upon making reference to above disclosure and foregoing interrelated and interchangeable illustrative embodiments, which are given by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope and spirit of the interrelated embodiments of the invention described herein. Further, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. In other words, the present disclosure is not limited to the various exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, but rather these embodiments are intended to serve as illustrative examples to facilitate a more easy and complete understanding of the invention and present disclosure.