Exposing packaged liquids, fruits and vegetables to an electrical field for just minutes may eliminate all traces of foodborne pathogens on those foods, according to a Purdue University study. Kevin Keener, a professor of food science, is looking for new methods to kill harmful bacteria such as E.coli and Salmonella that contaminate foods, causing serious illnesses and deaths. His method generates a plasma from the gas inside the food package using electricity. This process creates a wide variety of bacteria killing molecules including ozone, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen peroxide, and many others. These bacteria-killing molecules only exist for a few hours and then revert back to the original gas leaving a bacteria free product. His experiments show that bacteria on these surfaces were eliminated with 20 seconds of treatment and 24 hours of exposure to the gases it creates.