Journal
FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL
Volume 62, Issue -, Pages 484-491Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2014.03.067
Keywords
Chemical control; Ultraviolet-C; Cold oxygen plasma; Listeria monocytogenes; Biofilm; Lettuce; Cabbage
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Funding
- Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) -Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning [2013005051]
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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 24 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, 32 Hz ultrasonication (US), 390 mJ/cm(2) ultraviolet-C (UV-C), or 750 mJ/cm(2) 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 CPU reduction, regardless of the nature of the vegetable surface, while US failed to produce any significant reduction (P > 0.05). Furthermore, chemical treatments reduced count by <1 log colony forming unit (CFU)/cm(2) on lettuces, whereas a >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. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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