title: Safety of tomatillos and products containing tomatillos canned by the water-bath canning method.
abstract: Three studies were conducted to evaluate the safety of tomatillos and products containing tomatillos canned by the water-bath processing method. In the first study, plain tomatillos were processed for 25, 37.5, 50 and 62.5 min. In the second study, five tomatillo/onion combinations were prepared while five tomatillo/green chile combinations were prepared in the third study. pH evaluations were conducted to determine safety in all studies using pH 4.2 as the cut-off value. No differences in the pH of plain tomatillos were detected due to processing time. All jars of plain tomatillos had pH values below 4.1. All combinations of tomatillos/onions and tomatillos/green chile containing more than 50% tomatillo had pH values below the 4.2 cut-off value. Results of the three studies indicate (1) acidification of plain tomatillos is probably unnecessary for canning by the water-bath processing method and (2) combinations of acidic tomatillos and low-acid onions or green chile must contain more than 50% tomatillos to have a pH low enough for safe water-bath processing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces 88003, USA.
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Remmenga
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bock
mesh_terms: D018857:Food Packaging / Q000379:methods*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D019697:Onions; D012449:Safety; D014675:Vegetables