A team of Texas A&M University College of Engineering researchers has developed a new coating that can be applied to galvanized steel food containers where it reportedly repels bacteria and fungi, is mud-resistant and reduces the risk of corrosion.

To create the coating — which can potentially be applied to grain storage silos, as well as other food storage units and containers to increase post-harvest food safety — researchers employed a two-step process, which involved the immobilization of silica nanoparticles, and the chemisorption of an organosilane layer featuring low surface energy.

The end product, according to the researchers, exhibited both super-hydrophobicity and antifouling capabilities when trialed on galvanized steel containers and surfaces, which are used for harvested produce due to their durability and strength. Although bacteria already residing in such storage containers can encourage corrosion, the new coating can reportedly reduce corrosion by roughly 70%.

Further, the coating demonstrated in the lab the ability to decrease bacterial strains over a one-week period, and also reduced the surface adherence of Aspergillus, which is a foodborne fungus, and adhesion of Salmonella and Listeria by more than 99.5%.

The coating also reportedly reduced the occurrence of mud attachment, wherein harvested produce enters processing covered with mud, soil or debris, and, subsequently, microbial hazards, from the field.

An article detailing the findings, “Nanostructured antifouling coatings for galvanized steel food storage and container surfaces to enhance hygiene and corrosion resistance against bacterial, fungal, and mud contamination,” appears in the Journal of Food Engineering.