Using ultrasonic washing combined with UV-LEDs as a novel chemical-free method to disinfect fresh ready-to-eat produce.

Ultrason Sonochem

Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science & Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China.

Published: July 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • - The study investigates a new method for disinfecting ready-to-eat fresh produce using a combination of ultrasonic washing and ultraviolet-light emitting diodes (US-UV-LEDs), aimed at enhancing food safety without chemical sanitizers.
  • - When tested on cherry tomatoes and lettuce contaminated with bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli, US-UV-LEDs showed comparable effectiveness to traditional household sanitizers, reducing pathogen levels significantly on the produce.
  • - Additionally, while US-UV-LEDs were effective at lowering pathogen numbers in washing water, traditional sanitizers had less impact on residual pathogens, suggesting US-UV-LEDs might help prevent cross-contamination better than some common household options.

Article Abstract

The consumption of ready-to-eat fresh produce raises the issue of food-borne pathogen infections; thus, disinfecting ready-to-eat produce for commercial use, such as in homes and restaurants, is important to ensure food safety. Chemical sanitizers are typically used for disinfection. Ultraviolet-light emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) are a novel non-thermal disinfection technology that consumes less energy and generates less heat than traditional UV lamps, making them more appealing to consumers. In this study, we combined ultrasonic (US) washing method with UV-LEDs (US-UV-LEDs) to develop a technique for disinfecting fresh produce without using chemical sanitizers and compared its efficacy with three common household sanitizers ("84" (sodium hypochlorite) disinfectant, kettle descaler (citric acid), and vinegar (acetic acid)). In addition, we investigated the efficacy of this method in controlling pathogen numbers in the water used to wash (washing water) the produce to prevent cross-contamination between water and produce. Cherry tomatoes and lettuce were selected as produce models and Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 were used as the bacterial models. The results showed that US-UV-LEDs reduced the numbers of S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 on produce by 2.1-2.2 log CFU/g, consistent with the results achieved by the three household sanitizers; however, kettle descaler and vinegar had a limited effect (2.6-3.5 log CFU/mL) on residual pathogens in the washing water. Furthermore, we created washing water with low (754 mg/L) and high (1425 mg/L) chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels and determined the disinfection efficacy of "84" disinfectant and US-UV-LEDs. The results showed that US-UV-LEDs reduced the number of S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 by 2.0-2.1 and 1.8-2.1 log CFU/g under low and high COD levels, respectively, which was similar a result to that of "84" disinfectant. However, the residual pathogen numbers in the washing water were reduced to 1.4-1.9 log CFU/mL after treatment with US-UV-LED under high COD, whereas the pathogens were undetected in the washing water disinfected with "84" disinfectant. These results suggest that US-UV-LEDs have better application potential than acidic household sanitizers, but chlorine sanitizer remains the most effective disinfecting method.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11176818PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2024.106926DOI Listing

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