Newly-developed Bac M35 isn’t your run-of-the-mill preservative. In fact, it could feasibly replace chemical additives and salt used to ward off bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes. The kicker? It’s all-natural. The new preservative is a bacterial culture very similar to probiotics that are safe for human consumption. If Bac M35 makes it into mainstream markets, manufacturers will another “clean” ingredient to put on their labels.
Bac M35 was developed in Quebec, Canada, by fish smokehouse Fumoir Grizzly, Université Laval, and research center Merinov. So far, Bac M35 has been successful. In a statement, the organizations say the ingredient will “protect fish for 21 days at 4°C without affecting taste or nutritional content.” Fumoir Grizzly has even started using Bac M35 in their own facilities.
The creators of Bac M35 are confident that this new preservative will revolutionize the food industry, and they’re working to improve the ingredient for use in foods other than fish. “[The ingredient] opens the door to applying it in all food processing, thus eliminating the risk of Listeria contamination around the world,” the organizations said in their statement.
