Developed nations’ currency notes have less bacteria
August 13th, 2010 - 6:24 pm ICT by IANSSyndey, Aug 13 (IANS) Researchers have found currency notes in developed countries to have fewer bacteria than money in poorer countries.
Led by University of Ballarat’s food microbiologist Frank Vriesekoop, a global research team analysed banknotes from at least 10 nations, including Australia, China, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Britain and the US.
“The richer and more developed countries had fewer bacteria on their money than poorer countries,” Vriesekoop said, according to the journal Foodborne Pathogens and Disease.
“Importantly, nowhere in the world were alarming levels of pathogenic bacteria found on money, Vrieselkoop added.
A total of 1,280 banknotes were collected from food outlets such as foodshops and cafeterias and then carefully screened to ascertain the presence of bacteria, says a Ballarat release.
The international study included researchers from 10 universities and research institutes.
“The older notes are more wrinkled, so dirt and bacteria can easily nestle in the folds of the notes,” Vriesekoop said.
“The material the banknotes are made of was also found to be important. In most countries, banknotes are made from a cotton based material. But in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico - the banknotes are made from a polymer (plastic) material.”
“We found that notes made from polymer material carried significantly less bacteria compared to the notes made of cotton,” Vriesekoop added.
- Plasma zaps can decontaminate chicken meat - Feb 05, 2012
- New substance to make passports fraud-proof - May 19, 2011
- Human belly button harbours 1,400 bug strains - Jul 10, 2011
- Canada releases new plastic currency - Mar 27, 2012
- Bugs generate power while cleaning nuclear waste - Sep 07, 2011
- Antibiotic shows promise in silencing resistant bugs - Oct 30, 2011
- Now, a filter that purifies water 80,000 times faster than bacteria-trapping filters - Sep 01, 2010
- Eating dirt can be good for the gut - Jun 03, 2011
- Diarrhea-causing bacteria turned into antiviral gene therapy agent - Feb 08, 2011
- Silk fibres could pave way for "edible optics" in future - Jul 30, 2010
- Miracle preservative might keep food fresh for years - Aug 15, 2011
- Marine bacteria digest plastic - Mar 29, 2011
- Study reveals that bacteria laden soap is not clean - May 09, 2011
- Researchers discover way to reduce food-irradiation by 50pc - Dec 07, 2010
- Haiti's cholera strain came from South Asia: Study - Dec 11, 2010
Tags: alarming levels, australia china, cafeterias, currency notes, developed nations, dirt, food microbiologist, food outlets, foodborne pathogens, global research, more developed countries, netherlands, new zealand, pathogenic bacteria, plastic material, polymer material, polymer plastic, presence, research institutes, university of ballarat