89D-8 |
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L. A. R. MUNSON and D. Y. C. Fung. Dept. of Animal Sciences and Industry, Kansas State Univ., 1600 Midcampus Drive, Call Hall 202, Manhattan, KS 66506-1600 Consumer interest has recently focused on the use of “natural antimicrobials” to control food pathogens. Because of this, the development of innovative natural treatments to ensure the safety of food is of great interest to both customers and the food industry. Tea and honey are believed to contain several compounds that contribute to their antimicrobial activity and research is needed in that area. Our objective was to use a honey and tea extract combination to reduce selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative foodborne pathogens in a liquid medium.Listeria monocytogenes American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 49594 and Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43889 were inoculated in separate 10% solutions of Jasmine, Green, and Black tea extracts; and each solution was combined with 21 grams of Wildflower dark honey. Inoculated Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) served as the control. Microbial analysis was conducted at 37°C on days 0, 1, 3, and 5 using Modified Oxford Agar for L. monocytogenes, and MacConkey Sorbitol Agar for E. coli O157:H7. The experiment was performed in triplicate. Both pathogens grew from ca. 3 log CFU/ml to ca. 7-8 log CFU/ml on day 1 in the BHI control. Our results indicated that Jasmine with honey and Green tea with honey had the highest antimicrobial activity. These treatments suppressed L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 by ca. 3.0 and 4.0 log, respectively, when compared to the control on day 5. These results suggest that in a liquid system our honey and tea extract combination was effective in reducing L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7. The application of this treatment is currently being investigated with positive results as a surface wash, and may be significant for improving the safety of ready-to-eat vegetables and meat.
Session 89D, Food Microbiology: Antimicrobial effects on foodborne microorganisms
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |