Safer dairy products with fewer chemicals

Bacteria in the dairy industry can lead to disease and food waste. A new research project at Umeå University aims to find simpler ways to detect and remove the bacteria—without using a lot of chemicals.

Raw milk, milk products and entire processing lines in the dairy industry are often contaminated by Bacillus bacteria. These bacteria occur naturally in the environment but can cause serious disease if they enter food products. Bacillus bacteria are extremely difficult to remove due to their ability to form spores that survive both pasteurization and common cleaning procedures.

Researchers want to learn more about Bacillus bacteria and find new ways to combat them. Dmitry Malyshev, staff scientist at the Department of Physics, has received SEK 6 million for his project.

Preventing contamination

One aim of the project is to understand how and where the bacteria stick—for example, in storage tanks, pipes or connections—and under what conditions this happens. This knowledge can help identify suitable materials and design equipment that reduces the risk of bacterial growth.

Another aim is to develop a super-sensitive and reliable detection method that can detect when a system or product is contaminated.

"Contamination prevention requires frequent and chemical-intensive cleaning procedures in the industry, while entire batches of contaminated food products have to be thrown away to prevent the risk of disease. This is both costly and wasteful from an environmental perspective," says Malyshev.

Therefore, the researchers also aim to develop an industry-suitable method that requires as few chemicals as possible to remove or disinfect the bacteria and their highly resistant spores.

Grant provides long-term support

"This grant allows me to work long-term on the project, acquire the equipment we need, and collaborate with experts in other research fields," says Malyshev.

The most exciting aspect of the project, according to him, is the direct transfer of knowledge from academia to real-world applications.

"Research in academia can be difficult and time-consuming to turn into practical products. In this project, there are multiple industrial collaborations and I hope to see the results come into practical use more quickly," says Malyshev.

Provided by Umea University