Raw milk feta may save the day

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Apr 7th 2008 @ 7:02PM

You're on vacation in Greece when your stomach gives a sudden lurch and you start to suspect that the grilled lamb you ate the night before might not have been as squeaky clean as you thought (this is not a scenario I've ever found myself in, but hey, it could happen). Instead of running out to a pharmacy for the local equivalent of Pepto-Bismol, head to the local cheese shop for a slab of raw milk feta.

According to Panagiotis Chanos, a researcher from the University of Lincoln, they've been able "to isolate lactic acid bacteria found in raw sheep milk from small farms in Macedonia, northern Greece. Several of these friendly bacteria naturally produce antibiotics that killed off dangerous food-poisoning bacteria like Listeria."

They are hoping to take this research and leverage it into new ways to fight Listeria, as it has been known to cause death in populations who have weakened immune systems.

[via The Grinder]

Source

Filed Under: Science, On the Blogs, Health & Medical, Ingredients
Tags: cheese, feta cheese, FetaCheese, food poisoning, FoodPoisoning, greece, listeria, Macedonia, mediterranean, raw milk, RawMilk

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-09-2008 @4:23AM srebra said... ok, nice article but can I just tell you that Makedonia is not in Greece, It is a country itself, I am from Bulgaria, and we have the same cheese. Among other things like real yogurt and stuff...
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4-09-2008 @8:44AM Charlie Cheshire said... This is excellent news and Freddie Feta of the Cheese People (www.cheesepeople.co.uk) who normally is very sad may smile a little!
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