Copper kills harmful bacteria

Copper alloys may make more hygienic cooking surfaces than stainless steel, according to a recent study by Sadhana Ravishankar of the UA department of veterinary science and microbiology summarized in a news release from UA. Her lab group discovered that copper alloys have antimicrobial effects against the foodborne pathogen Salmonella enterica.

[Right,  Libin Zhu, Sadhana Ravishankar's lab manager, tested the survivability of Salmonella on copper alloys with varying copper concentrations. The bacteria cells sometimes died out on copper surfaces within hours, while they survived for up to two weeks on stainless steel. Photo by Beatriz Verdugo/UANews]

Arizona produces about 2/3 of the copper used in the U.S.

[taken in part from the UA news release]