Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Food Science and Biotechnology logoLink to Food Science and Biotechnology
. 2017 Apr 30;26(2):531–536. doi: 10.1007/s10068-017-0073-7

Effect of the precutting process on sanitizing treatments for reducing pathogens in vegetables

Jin-Ha Hwang 1, Jae-Hyun Yoon 1, Young-Min Bae 1, Mi-Ran Choi 1, Sun-Young Lee 1, Ki-Hwan Park 2,✉
PMCID: PMC6049438  PMID: 30263575

Abstract

The effectiveness of sanitizing treatments was investigated on reducing pathogens inoculated in whole or cut fresh vegetables, including Brussels sprouts, carrots, cherry tomatoes, paprika, and lettuce. These products were inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes and then treated with chlorine and alcohol sanitizers, followed by the subsequent washing procedure in sterile distilled water at 25°C for 5min. Alcohol sanitizer was the most effective in inhibiting E. coli O157:H7, S. Typhimurium, and L. monocytogenes on cut Brussels sprouts, showing bacterial reductions of 4.16, 3.60, and 3.26 log CFU/g, respectively. Interestingly, the effects of sanitizing treatments were significantly lower for fresh cut produce than those for whole products (p<0.05), indicating that the effectiveness of sanitizers would be different, depending on fresh produce and the pre-cut process. Therefore, further information should be obtained to develop an effective sanitizing treatment for fresh produce.

Keywords: sanitizing treatment, pathogen, fresh vegetable, pre-cutting, effectiveness

References

  • 1.López-Gálvez F, Allende A, Selma MV, Gil MI. Prevention of Escherichia coli cross-contamination by different commercial sanitizers during washing of fresh-cut lettuce. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 2009;133:167–171. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2009.05.017. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.São José JFB, Vanetti MCD. Effect of ultrasound and commercial sanitizers in removing natural contaminants and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium on cherry tomatoes. Food Control. 2012;24:95–99. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2011.09.008. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Santos MI, Cavaco A, Gouveia J, Novais MR, Nogueira PJ, Pedroso L, Ferreira MASS. Evaluation of minimally processed salads commercialized in Portugal. Food Control. 2012;23:275–281. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2011.06.022. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Salleh NA, Rusul G, Hassan Z, Reezal A, Isa SH, Nishibuchi M, Radu S. Incidence of S. Typhimurium in raw vegetables in Selangor, Malaysia. Food Control. 2003;14:475–479. [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Lee SY, Costello M, Kang DH. Efficacy of chlorine dioxide gas as a sanitizer of lettuce leaves. J. Food Protect. 2004;67:1371–1376. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-67.7.1371. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6.São José JFB, Andrade NJ, Ramos MA, Vanetti MCD, Stringheta PC, Chaves JBP. Decontamination by ultrasound application in fresh fruits and vegetables. Food Control. 2014;45:36–50. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2014.04.015. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Hyun J-E, Bae Y-M, Song H, Yoon J-H, Lee S-Y. Antibacterial effect of various essential oils against pathogens and spoilage microorganisms in fresh produce. J. Food Safety. 2015;35:206–219. doi: 10.1111/jfs.12162. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 8.Koseki S, Yoshida K, Kamitani Y, Itoh K. Influence of inoculation method, spot inoculation site, and inoculation size on the efficacy of acidic electrolyzed water against pathogens on lettuce. J. Food Protect. 2003;66:2010–2016. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-66.11.2010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Parish ME, Beuchat LR, Suslow TV, Harris LJ, Garrett EH, Farber JN. Methods to reduce/eliminate pathogens from fresh and fresh-cut produce. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. F. 2003;2:161–173. doi: 10.1111/j.1541-4337.2003.tb00033.x. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 10.Ruíz-Cruz S, Luo Y, Gonzalez RJ, Tao Y, Gonzalez-Aguilar GA. Acidified sodium chlorite as an alternative to chlorine to control microbial growth on shredded carrots while maintaining quality. J. Sci. Food Agr. 2006;86:1887–1893. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.2550. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 11.Ghahramani F, Scott KJ, Holmes R. Effects of alcohol vapors and oxygen stress on superficial scald and red color of stored ‘Delicious’ apples. HortScience. 2000;35:1292–1293. [Google Scholar]
  • 12.Karabulut OA, Mlikota-Gabler F, Mansour M, Smilanick JL. Postharvest ethanol and hot water treatments of table grapes to control graymold. Postharvest Biol. Tec. 2004;34:169–177. doi: 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2004.05.003. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 13.Kramer AP, Rudolph P, Kampf G, Pittet D. Limited efficacy of alcohol-based hand gels. Lancet. 2002;359:1489–1490. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08426-X. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 14.Liao CH, Cooke PH. Response to trisodium phosphate treatment of Salmonella Chester attached to fresh-cut green pepper slices. Can. J. Microbiol. 2001;47:25–32. doi: 10.1139/cjm-47-1-25. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 15.Burnett SL, Chen J, Beuchat LR. Attachment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to the surface and internal structure of apples as detected by confocal scanning laser microscopy. Appl. Environ. Microb. 2000;66:4679–4687. doi: 10.1128/AEM.66.11.4679-4687.2000. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16.Aruscavage D, Lee K, Miller S, Lejeune JT. Interactions affecting the proliferation and control of human pathogens on edible plants. J. Food Sci. 2006;71:89–99. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00157.x. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 17.Beuchat LR, Nail BV, Adler BB, Clavero MRS. Efficacy of spray application of chlorinated water in killing pathogenic bacteria on raw apples, tomatoes, and lettuce. J. Food Protect. 1998;61:1305–1311. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-61.10.1305. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 18.Beuchat LR, Farber JM, Garrett E, Harris LJ, Parish ME, Suslow TV, Busta FF. Standardization of a method to determine the efficacy of sanitizers in inactivating human pathogenic microorganisms on raw fruits and vegetables. J. Food Protect. 2001;64:1079–1084. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-64.7.1079. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 19.Bae YM, Baek SY, Lee SY. Resistance of pathogenic bacteria on the surface of stainless steel depending on attachment form and efficacy chemical sanitizers. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 2012;153:465–473. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2011.12.017. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 20.Bae YM, Heu SG, Lee SY. Inhibitory effect of dry-heat treatment and chemical sanitizers against foodborne pathogens contaminated on the surfaces of materials. J. Korean Soc. Food Sci. Nutr. 2009;38:1265–1270. doi: 10.3746/jkfn.2009.38.9.1265. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 21.Lee SY, Jung JH, Jin HH, Kim YH, Oh SW. Inhibitory effect of aerosolized commercial sanitizer against foodborne pathogens. J. Food Hyg. Safety. 2007;22:235–242. [Google Scholar]
  • 22.Takeuchi K, Matute CM, Hassan AN, Frank JF. Comparison of the attachment of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Pseudomonas uorescens to lettuce leaves. J. Food Protect. 2000;63:1433–1437. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-63.10.1433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 23.Tian JQ, Bae YM, Lee SY. Survival of foodborne pathogens at different relative humidities and temperatures and the effect of sanitizers on apples with different surface conditions. Food Microbiol. 2013;35:21–26. doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2013.02.004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 24.Beuchat LR. Survival of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 in bovine feces applied to lettuce and the effectiveness of chlorinated water as a disinfectant. J. Food Protect. 1999;62:845–849. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-62.8.845. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 25.Beuchat LR, Adler BB, Lang MM. Efficacy of chlorine and a peroxyacetic acid sanitizer in killing Listeria monocytogenes on iceberg and romaine lettuce using simulated commercial processing conditions. J. Food Protect. 2004;67:1238–1242. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-67.6.1238. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 26.Burnett AB, Iturriaga MH, Escartin EF, Pettigrew CA, Beuchat LR. Influence of variations in methodology on populations of Listeria monocytogenes recovered from lettuce treated with sanitizers. J. Food Protect. 2004;67:742–750. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-67.4.742. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 27.Lang MM, Harris LJ, Beuchat LR. Survival and recovery of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes on lettuce and parsley as affected by method of inoculation, time between inoculation and analysis, and treatment with chlorinated water. J. Food Protect. 2004;67:1092–1103. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-67.6.1092. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 28.Annous BA, Solomon EB, Niemira BA. Biofilms on fresh produce and difficulties in decontamination. J. Food Quality. 2006;13:80–84. [Google Scholar]
  • 29.Annous BA, Fratamico PM, Smith JL. Quorum sensing in biofilms: Why bacteria behave the way they do. J. Food Sci. 2009;74:R24–R37. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2008.01022.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 30.Seo KH, Frank JF. Attachment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to lettuce leaf surface and bacterial viability in response to chlorine treatment as demonstrated by using confocal scanning laser microscopy. J. Food Protect. 1999;62:3–9. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-62.1.3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Food Science and Biotechnology are provided here courtesy of Springer

RESOURCES