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Effectiveness of acidified sodium chlorite as an antimicrobial treatment of fresh produce |
D. E. CONNER, Dept. of Poultry Science, Univ. of Auburn, 236 Animal Sciences, Auburn, AL 36830 Although there is relatively little foodborne disease attributed to fresh produce, the number of reported cases of foodborne disease associated with fresh fruits and vegetables has doubled over the last decade. Produce can become contaminated with foodborne pathogens during growing, harvesting procedures and distribution. Water, soil and manure are potential sources of foodborne bacterial and protozoan pathogens. Given the increasing potential for contamination and subsequent foodborne disease, there is a need for feasible antimicrobial treatments that can be applied commercially. Acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) has been investigated for its ability to eliminate bacterial pathogens on fresh produce. When applied to inoculated fresh fruits and vegetables at 1200 ppm for as little as 1 min, ASC substantially reduced numbers of Salmonella serotypes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes. Typically, ASC treatment eliminated >99.9% (3 log reduction) of these pathogens on carrots, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and apples. However, antimicrobial activity was affected by type of bacteria and produce. In general, Salmonella was more susceptible to lethal effects of ASC when compared to E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes. Of these three pathogens, L. monocytogenes was more resistant, although ASC eliminated >99% of this pathogen on strawberries, tomatoes and apples. ASC treatment was less effective on cantaloupes (51.9 - 99.7 % kills), likely due to internalization of the bacteria, which prevented their contact with the ASC solution. Overall, antimicrobial activity of ASC was not affected by contact times ranging from 1 to 10 min, or temperature of application (23 vs 54 C). Because ASC can provide rapid kills of key foodborne pathogens on a variety of fruits and vegetables, it shows promise as an intervention treatment to improve the microbiological safety of fresh produce. Further research is needed to define the effects of ASC on quality attributes of fresh produce.
Session 91, Acidified sodium chlorite - an antimicrobial intervention for the food industry
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