UV-C SANITIZING FRESH-CUT BIMI~? BROCCOLI

摘要

Food safety is one of the main issues for the fresh-cut (FC) industry, which needs alternativesrnto chlorine disinfection in order to avoid some of their disadvantages. Escherichia coli hasrnbeen reported as a pathogen in FC vegetables. The current work studied the efficacy of 5 andrn10 kJcm~(-2) UV-C on FC Bimi~? broccoli (Brassica oleracea Italica Group x Alboglabra Group)rninoculated with 6 cfug-1 of E. coli 510T. Just after radiation, samples were packed inrnpolypropylene baskets in air, and stored in darkness throughout 22 days at 5℃ or 17 days atrn15℃. On the processing day, both 5 and 10 kJcm~(-2) UV-C reduced the E. coli load in 1.5 cfug~(-1).rnCompared to control, FC Bimi~? treated with both UV-C doses showed a continuous decreasernof the E. coli load throughout shelf-life, reaching after 22 days at 5℃ around 3.5 log cfug~(-1)rnreductions compared to control. In contrast, when both UV-C treated samples were stored atrn15℃, after 10 days no significant E. coli reductions compared to control was found. As mainrnconclusion, combined moderate UV-C and storage at 5℃ in air was a practical method tornreduce E. coli growth on inoculated FC Bimi~? broccoli throughout 22 days of shelf-life.