Modelling the effect of UV light at different wavelengths and treatment combinations on the inactivation of Campylobacter jejuni

摘要

Application of novel decontamination strategies such as Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation are required to mitigate the risks associated with Campylobacter jejuni in food. This study evaluated the use of a light-emitting diode (LED) based technology to inactivate C. jejuni NCTC 11168 in Maximum Recovery Diluent (MRD) at wavelengths of 280, 300 and 365 nm and combinations. To assess the survival curves, two linear (Log linear (LL) and Linear and Shoulder) and two non-linear models (Weibull and Double Weibull) were fitted. UV exposures showed different antimicrobial effects where a combination of 280/300 nm was the most effective treatment with a 4D(t) value of 5 s observed in a bacterial suspension of 5 log CFU/mL. Moreover, the LL model was the most robust model to describe the inactivation kinetics of Campylobacter when exposed to UV and therefore, modelling tools could be applied to predict the efficiency of UV light in a model solution.