Scientists Develop Sixty Day Bread

Hugh Pickens writes writes "BBC reports that scientists have developed a technique that can make bread stay mold-free for 60 days that could also be used with a wide range of foods including fresh turkey and many fruits and vegetables. At its laboratory on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Don Stull of Microzap showed off the long, metallic microwave device that resembles an industrial production line. Originally designed to kill bacteria such as MRSA and salmonella, the researchers discovered it could kill the mold spores in bread in around 10 seconds. 'We treated a slice of bread in the device, we then checked the mold that was in that bread over time against a control,' says Stull. 'And at 60 days it had the same mold content as it had when it came out of the oven.' Food waste is a massive problem in most developed countries. In the US, figures released this year suggest that the average American family throws away 40% of the food they purchase — which adds up to $165 Billion annually. There is some concern that consumers might not take to bread that lasts for so long and Stull acknowledges it might be difficult to convince some people of the benefits. 'We'll have to get some consumer acceptance of that. Most people do it by feel and if you still have that quality feel they probably will accept it.'"

Yeah! This means

[Tablizer]

Twinkies are back!

In Germany, I buy fresh bread daily ...

[acidfast7]

... 60-day old bread sounds worse than the usual pre-sliced white (Wonder) bread that you guys usually eat :(

Re:Real bread goes stale after 1 day

[ratbag]

Note to mods - I certainly wasn't aiming for Insightful/Interesting/Informative :)

More a sort of "+1 stating the bleeding obvious"

Re:Real bread goes stale after 1 day

[Canazza]

I think what he means is that 10% of bread is Dark Matter

Re:this is great news - not really

[ArhcAngel]

I attended a class in which a food scientist basically made the assertion that any bread that didn't spoil after a couple of days wasn't fit for human consumption. His reasoning was that if bacteria don't want to eat it then you don't either.