Broccoli sprout washing with electrolyzed water: Effects on microbiological and physicochemical characteristics

A two-factor, six-level factorial design was adopted for optimizing the flow rates of brine and catholyte in electrolyzed water generator in order to produce electrolyzed water (EW) having best decontamination performance for broccoli sprout washing. EW, especially acidic electrolyzed water (AEW), having a pH of 3.66 and chlorine content of 230 mg L−1 was found most suitable for sprout decontamination. Based on the overall quality of washed broccoli sprouts, the optimum sprout washing (on intermittent basis) time using the AEW was found to be 20 s. On sprout washing using the AEW for 20 s, the viable counts of microbial contaminants, namely aerobic bacteria and molds and yeasts, were decreased by 1.4 and 1.0 log CFU/g, respectively. The inactivation patterns were well fitted by Weibull model. The physicochemical properties including moisture level, total phenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing sugar content, and sensory characteristics of broccoli sprouts were not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by washing with the AEW compared to unwashed controls. Based on the obtained results, an improved shelf-life of broccoli sprout during subsequent storage can be anticipated.