Slicing under Chlorinated Water Improves the Disinfection of Fresh-Cut Romaine Lettuce

Authors: Toivonen, Peter M.A.; Lu, Changwen; Delaquis, Pascal; Bach, Susan

Source: Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 74, Number 12, December 2011 , pp. 2142-2147(6)

Publisher: International Association for Food Protection

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Abstract:

The aim of this study was to determine whether the timing or mode of application influences the antimicrobial efficacy of a sodium hypochlorite solution against microorganisms on fresh-cut Romaine lettuce. Lettuce leaves were treated with a solution of sodium hypochlorite containing 70 mg liter⁻¹ free chlorine prior to slicing (WLS), while submerged in the solution (CWS), or after slicing (PCS), the last being common practice in the fresh-cut industry. Immediate antimicrobial effects were determined from analyses performed directly after treatment, while delayed effects were derived from analysis of packaged samples stored at 4 and 15°C. Experiments were performed with both uninoculated and inoculated whole leaves, using Escherichia coli O157:H7 from a type collection as an inoculum. The CWS treatment provided the greatest initial reductions in aerobic plate counts of E. coli O157:H7 populations, followed by PCS and WLS. The advantage afforded by the CWS approach was maintained over 10 days in storage at 4°C. In addition, it was noted that the visual quality attributes of the fresh-cut lettuce from the CWS approach were better than those from the other two treatments. These results collectively suggest that slicing lettuce under a sanitizer solution could provide better disinfection of fresh-cut Romaine lettuce than the current practice of washing with sanitizer after cutting has taken place.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-11-194

Affiliations: 1: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, 4200 Highway 97, Summerland, British Columbia, Canada V0H 1Z0

Publication date: 2011-12-01

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Slicing under Chlorinated Water Improves the Disinfection of Fresh-Cut Romaine Lettuce

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