UGA Develops New Antimicrobial Food Additive/Sanitizer

Research teams from the UGA Center for Food Safety and the UGA Department of Food Science and Technology have collaborated to develop and validate a new antimicrobial called FaAST (Fatty acid Antimicrobial Sanitizer Technology). It is both effective against foodborne bacterial pathogens and versatile in its applicability. Since FaAST is derived from a fatty acid found naturally in fruits such as citrus and tomatoes, its application in foods and food contact surfaces is permissible. FaAST has been used as a liquid for washing produce, as a wax for coating produce as a powdered antimicrobial food additive and is being explored as a foam for dry sanitation. Currently, the research team at the University of Georgia, Griffin is collaborating with several food industries (wheat, nut-based snacks and an antimicrobial food additive manufacturer) to evaluate replacing their current sanitizers with FaAST. FaAST was one of the products selected by UGA I-CORPS program for training to bring the product to the market.