Effectiveness of non-chlorine sanitizers in improving the safety and quality of fresh betel leaf

•Effectiveness of non-chlorine sanitizers for washing fresh produce.•Use of natural shell waste in improving the safety and quality of fresh betel leaf.•Potentiality of calcinated calcium as a substitute of chlorine for sanitizing fresh betel leaf.

Calcined waste shell aggregate (CCa) is a promising non-chlorine sanitizers and 0.01% CCa was found to be effective in eliminating pathogens in various fresh produces. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of promising non-chlorine sanitizers including 0.5% (H2O2), 0.01% CCa, and/or 0.5% (CA), in enhancing the safety and quality of betel leaf. The presence of Salmonella spp. was observed in the commercial betel leaf samples. Washing the commercial betel leaf samples with distilled water was able eliminate soil debris, however, was unable to eliminate microorganisms satisfactorily. In contrast, washing betel leaf sample with 0.01% CCa, 0.5% (H2O2), and 0.5% CA was able to eliminate pathogenic bacteria initially, however, after enrichment the pathogen populations were detected in the commercial betel leaf samples. When betel leaf samples was artificially contaminated with pathogenic bacteria [higher (>7.0 log CFU/ml) and lower (>4.0 log CFU/ml) inoculums] and washed with 0.01% CCa, 0.5% H2O2, and 0.5% CA solutions, a complete elimination of inoculated bacteria was noticed initially in most of the cases, but after enrichment, the bacteria was mostly detected in higher inoculums study. This finding demonstrated that 0.01% CCa, 0.5% H2O2, and 0.5% CA could be useful in improving the safety and quality of betel leaf, however, use of 0.01% CCa is preferable because of its low cost, availability, biodegradable and non-hazardous characteristics compared to other sanitizers used. Hence, could be positive alternatives of chlorine sanitizers.