Maryland’s favorite seafood dish may one day help the produce you buy at the grocery store taste better and last longer. New research conducted at the University of Maryland has found a new solution that can get rid of pesticides and functions as a better preservative.
The researchers with the A. James Clark School of Engineering at U.Md. designed a food wash that contains chitosan nanocrystals that were derived from Maryland blue crab shells.
Peihua Ma, one of the researchers, told WTOP this solution has two functions.
“The first one is that it can absorb or remove the pesticides from the surface of the fruit,” Ma said.
But it can also keep that broccoli or banana fresher for longer because it has antibacterial and antimold properties as well.
Ma said chitosan has a both a high surface area because it is a very porous material, but also a “low binding energy,” making it optimal for removing unwanted pesticides from food.
Many current pesticide washes, such as vinegar and soda solutions, can damage the produce’s taste or appearance. Not so with the chitosan, according to Ma.
The research team published its findings in the science journal Matter earlier this summer.
“This work offers a viable solution to improve food safety associated with our daily life,” Qin Wang, professor in nutrition and food science at U.Md., said in a statement.
Ma said this is just a first step.
The solution contains only materials that are already recognized as food-safe. The hope is this new development can be put into production on a large scale.
Ma suggested, one day, this solution could coat food packaging to remove unwanted and dangerous residues.