Spanish Scientists Use Bacteria from Baby Poop to Make Sausages

CASTELLDEFELS, Spain, Feb. 27 (UPI) —
A team of Spanish scientists said they used strains of probiotic bacteria found in baby poop to create pork sausages.

The scientists, from the food safety program at Catalonia’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Research, wrote in the journal Meat Science they used 43 infant fecal samples from donated diapers to gather three strains of probiotic bacteria that they then used to make pork sausages, ABC News reported Thursday.

The scientists wrote the resulting sausage bore a strong resemblance to feut, a type of fermented Mediterranean sausage.

Gregor Reid, the director of the Canadian Research and Development Centre for Probiotics in Ontario, said gathering the bacteria from baby poop does not make it unsanitary.

“The source of the bacteria is of no concern to me. How did the babies get the organisms in the first place? Likely from mom,” Reid was quoted as saying. “As long as the isolated strain is properly tested, it should be fine.”

Probiotic researcher Jeremy Burton said the fecal material is highly diluted to isolate the bacteria and there would be no actual poop in the sausage.

He said people might be surprised to learn bacteria for food is frequently derived from human waste.

“Ever eaten a probiotic yogurt? The probiotic strains found in those yogurts have human origins,” he told ABC News.