Growth of and Other Foodborne Pathogens on Inoculated Inshell Pistachios during Simulated Delays between Hulling and Drying.

During harvest, pistachios are hulled, separated in water into floater and sinker streams (in large part on the basis of nut density), and then dried before storage. Higher prevalence and levels of were previously observed in floater pistachios, but contributing factors are unclear. To examine the behavior of pathogens on hulled pistachios during simulated drying delays, floater and sinker pistachios collected from commercial processors were inoculated at 1 or 3 log CFU/g with cocktails of and in some cases O157:H7 or and incubated for up to 30 h at 37°C and 90% relative humidity.

Growth of Salmonella on Inoculated Inhull Pistachios during Postharvest Handling.

Salmonella has been isolated from dried pistachios in both postharvest and retail surveys. The source of Salmonella in pistachios is unknown, but introduction is possible at points during production, harvest, and postharvest activities. To examine the behavior of Salmonella on pistachios during simulated postharvest conditions, early-, mid-, and late-season inhull pistachios were collected from two commercial processors over five different harvests.