Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6395863 | Food Research International | 2014 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
As people shift their attention away from unhealthy foods, healthy fresh produce has become popular. However, fresh produce has contributed to many outbreaks of Listeria monocytogenes, which can form a mature biofilm within 24Â h. Recent control strategies have proved ineffective in ensuring safe food production. This study focuses on L. monocytogenes biofilms formed on lettuces and cabbages using a viable plate count method and field emission electron microscopy. We investigated the reduction efficacy of treatment with 200 parts per million (ppm) chlorine, 2% each of citric, lactic, and malic acids, 32Â Hz ultrasonication (US), 390Â mJ/cm2 ultraviolet-C (UV-C), or 750Â mJ/cm2 cold oxygen plasma (COP) on L. monocytogenes biofilms. Following treatment, the quality of the vegetables was analyzed with standard procedures. UV-C and COP showed the best CFU reduction, regardless of the nature of the vegetable surface, while US failed to produce any significant reduction (PÂ >Â 0.05). Furthermore, chemical treatments reduced count by <Â 1 log colony forming unit (CFU)/cm2 on lettuces, whereas a >Â 2 log reduction was observed on cabbages. The effect of chemical treatment largely depended on the particular vegetable, while UV-C and COP achieved high reduction regardless of the vegetable, and had no effect on quality. We, therefore, speculate that UV-C and COP show promise in overcoming L. monocytogenes biofilms on food produce.
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Authors
Sokunrotanak Srey, Shin Young Park, Iqbal Kabir Jahid, Sang-Do Ha,