Building a better bug deterrent

Every year, over 30 per cent of all dairy products are lost due to bacterial contamination – a loss that costs the dairy industry billions. Traditional solutions, such as chemical sanitizers and heat treatments, fail against resilient bacterial biofilms, while protein loss in cheese production limits profitability. But what if a simple mineral could solve both problems? Researchers have discovered that magnesium ions not only prevent bacterial biofilm formation but also increase cheese protein yield by an astonishing 33 per cent. This means less waste, higher-value dairy products, and a significant competitive advantage for producers.

This breakthrough technology, developed by top researcher Dr. Moshe Shemesh, together with ProfessorsRam Reifen and Doron Steinberg and their teams in collaborative project between the Volcani Institute and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is backed by Kidum and Yissum, the technology transfer units in either institutions. As dairy producers worldwide search for safer, more efficient production methods, this magnesium-based solution presents a rare opportunity to redefine food safety, quality and profitability in one step.

“I began to be interested in effect of magnesium on bacterial cells during my post doctorate researchat Harvard. Since 2009, we have been investigating the effect of magnesium ions on bacterial cell physiology, for instance biofilm formation A few years ago, we started to introduce it to milk. The raw milk has a problem of biofilm formation with different microbial species. There are different types of bacteria, such as Bacillus, which are very problematic in the dairy industry. They are the biofilm ansendorspore forming bacteria, which survive pasteurisation. Biofilms are multi-cellular communities, and may form on dairy equipment and within milk itself. They can be very difficult to mitigate and eliminate using the standard cleaning or pasteurisation process.

“We can introduce magnesium ions at the milk tank, before it comes to the dairy plants, and this may trigger a sensitivity to pasteurisation through mitigating biofilm formation. We have tried different salts: magnesium chloride or sulphate, which found to be efficient evenly. It’s very important that the salt is soluble in the water.

“We were aware of the possible side effects in either texture or taste during introducing magnesium ions within the dairy products. But, surprisingly, the cheese becomes more firm, and the magnesium improves the curdling process, especially for soft cheese, such as cottage cheese or labneh. Israeli consumers prefer the curdled, firmer cheeses and astonishingly the bioavailability of magnesium is very high for the resulting products.

“Recently, we have been working with a major dairy company in Israel, and we’ve done some extensive experiments in a pilot plant. We have also started scaling up to an industrial level. It opens a new era in producing healthier, higher quality dairy products. It also doesn’t add much in terms of cost – it amounts to about US$150 per tonne for the magnesium additives.

“As microbiologists, we have been focused on the activity within bacterial cells, and now we are just starting to understand what goes on because of the chemistry properties. It appears that the magnesium binds the proteins, including whey protein, in cheese making. This is usually lost during normal cheese making, but by using magnesium, the whey proteins are now incorporated within the cheese.  We also need to investigate much deeper, in terms of microbial physiology and the major processes involved during biofilm formation.”

Panel:

The technology: facts

This is a novel, magnesium-based technology, which increases cheese protein yield by 33 per cent, prevents bacterial contamination, and enhances product safety while adding nutritional benefits. The dairy industry faces significant challenges with bacterial contamination and product spoilage, leading to approximately 20 per cent of pasteurised milk being discarded annually. Current solutions such as chemical

sanitisers and heat treatments are often ineffective against resilient bacterial biofilms.

The innovation is a proprietary magnesium-enrichment technology that transforms dairy processing by:

• Increasing cheese protein yield by 33 per cent, potentially doubling cheese output by weight
• Preventing bacterial biofilm formation at certain concentrations
• Enhancing heat pasteurisation effectiveness
• Improving cheese curdling efficiency
• Providing enhanced magnesium bioavailability for consumer health benefits.

The values offered:

• Reduction in cleaning costs and downtime from biofilm prevention
• Extended shelf life reducing waste and returns
• Premium pricing potential for magnesium-enriched products.

The technology involves enriching milk with specific concentrations of magnesium ions that:

• Inhibit bacterial biofilm formation through gene expression modification
• Enhance protein retention during cheese production
• Improve curd formation and cheese texture
• Increase magnesium bioavailability in final products.

Patents and publications:

Patent PCT/IL2016/051000, granted in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Russia. Under examination in USA, Europe, China and India,

Key publication: Ben-Ishay et al. (2017) Enrichment of milk with magnesium provides healthier and safer dairy products. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, 3:24.

About Dr Shemesh:

Moshe received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In his postdoctoral research, Dr Shemesh was studying mechanisms that govern formation of complex communities of bacterial cells at Harvard University. Starting from 2011, he has been leading a food microbiology laboratory at the Department of Food Science in an agricultural research organisation. His research interests are focused on investigating adaptation and survival mechanisms of spore forming bacteria in food and food-contact environments. The research of Dr Shemesh is also dedicated to developing novel means to improve microbial quality and safety of food, specifically dairy products. Lately, he has been involved in developing novel probiotic and symbiotic approaches to mitigate pathogenic microorganisms from food production chain. His major expertise is in the following fields: Food microbiology, microbial quality and safety of dairy products, probiotics, Gram-positive Bacilli species.