In people's impression, vacuum-packed food does not easily breed bacteria because it is cut off from contact with air. However, a new research report published in the latest issue of the "BMC" journal in the United States claims that vacuum-packed food actually provides a more favorable breeding environment for a bacterium that causes food poisoning.
Biomedical researchers at the Technical University of Denmark have found that a bacterium that can cause food poisoning, Listeria, thrives in an oxygen-free environment. Since vacuum-packed food is isolated from oxygen, Listeria can multiply more than 100 times faster than under normal conditions, leading to food poisoning. Unlike many other bacteria that grow in food, Listeria can even multiply in the temperature of a refrigerator.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) points out that foods that may harbor this bacterium include ham, raw milk, luncheon meat, soft-ripened cheese, raw and cooked meat, uncooked poultry, raw and smoked fish, and more.