Strategies for Determining Safety of Fermented Foods Produced in SpaceThe BioNutrients experiments examine the feasibility of using microbially produced foods – yogurt, kefir, fermented food products– to supplement the current prepackaged food system to provide freshly synthesized nutrients and genetically engineered protein therapeutics to support crew health for sustainable and long duration crewed exploration. Safety of the products must be established as direct consumption of such products is a risk due to potential contamination with pathogenic organisms. Identifying pathogen contamination is particularly challenging as the fermenting cultures can mask the presence of contaminating organisms. Here we consider current methods of detecting coliforms, aerobic colonies, non-lactic acid bacteria, molds (yeasts), and specific pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus and salmonella. We also consider alternate and additional testing including sequencing and quantitative PCR. We investigate the use of the E-Nose developed by NASA Ames Research Center. This portable device senses volatile organic compounds in real time and can be trained to recognize “good” uncontaminated products from contaminated ones as a means of predicting food safety. Finally, we consider methods of in-flight pasteurization to increase safety and decrease overall microbial load of these products. This presentation will summarize testing status and outline the strategy that will be employed in the BioNutrients-3 ISS fermented foods experiment.
Document ID
20240000996
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Poster
Authors
Natalie Ball (Wyle (United States) El Segundo, California, United States)
Sadie Downing (KBR (United States) Houston, Texas, United States)
Ami Hannon (KBR (United States) Houston, Texas, United States)
Hiromi Kagawa (SETI Institute Mountain View, California, United States)
Jing Li (Ames Research Center Mountain View, California, United States)
Hami E Ray (Ames Research Center Mountain View, United States)
Oscar Roque (KBR (United States) Houston, Texas, United States)
A Mark Settles (Ames Research Center Mountain View, California, United States)
Kevin Sims (KBR (United States) Houston, Texas, United States)
Sandra Vu (KBR (United States) Houston, Texas, United States)
Frances M Donovan (Ames Research Center Mountain View, California, United States)
Date Acquired
January 23, 2024
Subject Category
Man/System Technology and Life Support
Meeting Information
Meeting: Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop (IWS)
Location: Galveston, TX
Country: US
Start Date: February 13, 2024
End Date: February 16, 2024
Sponsors: National Aeronautics and Space Administration