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[an error occurred while processing this directive]K-STATE ENTOMOLOGIST PART OF EFFORT TO FIND A MORE HEALTHFUL, EARTH-FRIENDLY METHOD TO KEEP INSECT PESTS OUT OF CURED HAM AND AGED CHEESE
Try enjoying a sandwich knowing that something else already has been nibbling on your ham and cheese.
That's why for years food producers have made sure that insect pests don't take a bite out of cured ham or aged cheese before consumers do. Now food producers are looking for more healthful, environmentally friendly ways to keep these pests from getting a taste.
Helping food producers accomplish this is Thomas Phillips, a Kansas State University professor who heads the entomology department. Phillips and collaborators at Mississippi State and North Carolina State universities are using a $612,199 grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine options other than methyl bromide fumigation to keep pests out of the food supply. Of the grant award, $222,290 is coming to K-State.
Phillips' expertise is in durable food products like nuts, beans and grains and the pests that like to eat them. He studies pests that lurk in grain bins, grain elevators and distribution centers, as well as ways to manage pests without pesticides. For this project, Phillips will focus on the ham mite and red-legged ham beetle, both of which love to munch on dried, cured hams like those found on many Christmas dinner tables. The research also will look at pests that can infest aged cheeses.
Fortunately for consumers, these pests don't pose a serious danger to humans. Because the ham mite is part of the house dust mite complex, some people may be likewise allergic, Phillips said. He said the ham beetle usually goes for meat right next to the bone rather than the parts consumers usually eat. Phillips said the main concern with these pests is a cosmetic issue.
"You can barely see the mite, but the residue looks like sawdust," Phillips said. "These are high-value food products, and you want to keep them marketable. These pests are definitely something we want to control."
Food producers have relied on methyl bromide to disinfest food storage facilities for decades, Phillips said. But the United States is among countries that have agreed to phase out methyl bromide because of its contribution to depleting the protective ozone layer in earth's upper atmosphere.
Using a "kill and count" method, Phillips and K-State researchers will study the effectiveness of two traditional insecticide fumigants and three safer options to see which is most effective at killing the pests. Meanwhile, some of the project collaborators will conduct taste panels to see which of the methods is most acceptable to consumers while other collaborators look at which of the insecticide methods leaves the least amount of residue.
Traditional insecticides can be dangerous to humans while in use but safe afterward, although they can leave residues. The traditional fumigants to be studied at K-State are sulfuryl fluoride and phosphine gas. Although sulfuryl fluoride contains the same element that keeps your teeth healthy, the gas is toxic. It can be used to control pests, but any fluoride left behind should be limited, Phillips said. Phosphine gas is a traditional fumigant that's usually used for stored grains.
The nontraditional methods that Phillips and K-State researchers will study are low oxygen, carbon dioxide and ozone. The low oxygen method works by using a vacuum to remove as much oxygen as possible from the storage area. By taking the oxygen content of the air from about 20 percent oxygen down to 2 percent, the pests will die. Carbon dioxide works because even though we breathe it out all of the time, it is toxic at high levels. And while ozone high in the atmosphere helps shield the earth from ultraviolet rays, ozone is a pollutant when it's in high levels in the air we breathe near the ground. As an insecticide, Phillips said ozone is a relatively clean method in that it can be generated from a machine and it breaks down quickly on surfaces.
"Ultimately the goal is to improve food safety and environmental safety," Phillips said.