Efficacy of Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water in Inactivating Salmonella on Alfalfa Seeds and Sprouts

Authors: Kim Chyer¹; Hung Yen-Con¹; Brackett Robert E.²; Lin Chyi-Shen³

Source: Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 66, Number 2, 1 February 2003 , pp. 208-214(7)

Publisher: International Association for Food Protection

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Abstract:

Studies have demonstrated that electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water is effective in reducing foodborne pathogens on fresh produce. This study was undertaken to determine the efficacy of EO water and two different forms of chlorinated water (chlorine water from Cl₂ and Ca(OCl)₂ as sources of chlorine) in inactivating Salmonella on alfalfa seeds and sprouts. Tengram sets of alfalfa seeds inoculated with a five-strain cocktail of Salmonella (6.3 × 10⁴ CFU/g) were subjected to 90 ml of deionized water (control), EO water (84 mg/liter of active chlorine), chlorine water (84 mg/liter of active chlorine), and Ca(OCl)₂ solutions at 90 and 20,000 mg/liter of active chlorine for 10 min at 24 ± 2°C. The application of EO water, chlorinated water, and 90 mg/liter of Ca(OCl)₂ to alfalfa seeds for 10 min reduced initial populations of Salmonella by at least 1.5 log₁₀ CFU/g. For seed sprouting, alfalfa seeds were soaked in the different treatment solutions described above for 3 h. Ca(OCl)₂ (20,000 mg/liter of active chlorine) was the most effective treatment in reducing the populations of Salmonella and non-Salmonella microflora (4.6 and 7.0 log₁₀ CFU/g, respectively). However, the use of high concentrations of chlorine generates worker safety concerns. Also, the Ca(OCl)₂ treatment significantly reduced seed germination rates (70% versus 90 to 96%). For alfalfa sprouts, higher bacterial populations were recovered from treated sprouts containing seed coats than from sprouts with seed coats removed. The effectiveness of EO water improved when soaking treatments were applied to sprouts in conjunction with sonication and seed coat removal. The combined treatment achieved 2.3- and 1.5-log₁₀ CFU/g greater reductions than EO water alone in populations of Salmonella and non-Salmonella microflora, respectively. This combination treatment resulted in a 3.3-log₁₀ CFU/g greater reduction in Salmonella populations than the control (deionized water) treatment.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia 30223-1797, USA 2: Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia 30223-1797, USA 3: Department of Food Science, National Ping-Tung University of Science and Technology, Ping-Tung, Taiwan

Publication date: 2003-02-01

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First published in 1937, the Journal of Food Protection^®, is a refereed monthly publication. Each issue contains scientific research and authoritative review articles reporting on a variety of topics in food science pertaining to food safety and quality. The Journal is internationally recognized as the leading publication in the field of food microbiology with a readership exceeding 11,000 scientists from 70 countries. The Journal of Food Protection^® is indexed in Index Medicus, Current Contents, BIOSIS, PubMed, Medline, and many others.

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Efficacy of Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water in Inactivating Salmonella on Alfalfa Seeds and Sprouts

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