Small black spots appear on orange skin. In the drawer of its refrigerator, it is not uncommon to see, after a few days of conservation, its carrots covered with small black spots. What reserve a sad fate for them, and thus participate food waste. In Switzerland, around a third of the edible parts of food is lost or wasted between the field and the plate, estimates the Confederation.
But the situation could soon change: Bernese and Friborg researchers seek to extend the conservation time of carrots thanks to a layer of bacterial protection. During tests, the carrots were protected from the appearance of black spots up to three weeks.
These spots are caused by the Berkeleyomyces fungus, responsible for the black rot of the roots. At the time of harvest, contamination of carrots is not visible, the German -style agricultural information service (LID) said on Friday in a press release. Black spots only appear during storage in the store or at home in the refrigerator. There is not yet an effective method to fight against these spots.
Save other vegetables
However, researchers from the Haute School of Agronomic, Forests and Food Sciences (BFH-HAFL) in Zollikofen (BE), in collaboration with the University of Friborg and Agroscope, have done promising biopreservation tests. They plunged the carrots into a bacterial protective layer which prevents mold from developing. According to the upper school, the bacteria has a protective effect that can last up to three weeks.
“Until now, we have plunged the carrots into a solution containing protective bacteria. As part of our new “Carrotshield” project, we now examine how it can be implemented with the facilities already existing among producers, producers and storage places, “explains Fanny Louviot, scientific collaborator at the BFH-HAFL, cited in the press release.
The project, planned for a period of three years, must also show whether biopreservation can be used on a large scale, to what extent it is sure and respectful of the environment and on which varieties of carrots it is effective.
However, there are still some obstacles to overcome before a product is marketed. Bacteria are not yet recognized as conservation agents. In -depth tests are necessary to confirm the safety of this method for health and the environment. Berkeleyomyces Basicola does not only attack carrots but, according to the university, to more than 170 kinds of plants. An extension of biopreservation to other foods is possible. However, other fruits and vegetables have not yet been tested to date.
