Postharvest Treatments Defeat Vibrio vulnificus

摘要

Widely distributed in shellfish and the coastal waters they inhabit, Vibrio vulnificus bacteria account for 95% of all seafood-related deaths in the U.S. Postharvest treatments - including high-pressure processing, irradiation, and heat shock - can reduce populations of the pathogen in shellfish to nonde-tectable levels. Immersion of oysters in ice and cold storage, however, do not adequately kill the bacteria.