title: Use of organic acids to inactivate Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes on organic fresh apples and lettuce.
abstract: This study was undertaken to investigate the antimicrobial effect of organic acids against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes on whole red organic apples and lettuce. Several studies have been conducted to evaluate organic acids as sanitizers. However, no studies have compared antimicrobial effects of various organic acids on organic fresh produce, including evaluation of color changes of produce. Apples and lettuce were inoculated with a cocktail of 3 strains each of 3 foodborne pathogens provided above and treated with 1% and 2% organic acids (propionic, acetic, lactic, malic, and citric acid) for 0, 0.5, 1, 5, and 10 min. With increasing treatment time and acid concentration, organic acid treatments showed significant reduction compared to the control treatment (distilled water), and differences in antimicrobial effects between organic acids were observed. After 10 min of treatment with 1% and 2% organic acids in apples, propionic (0.92 to 2.75 log reduction), acetic (0.52 to 2.78 log reduction), lactic (1.69 to >3.42 log reduction), malic (1.48 to >3.42 log reduction), and citric acid (1.52 to >3.42 log reduction) exhibited significant (P < 0.05) antibacterial effects against 3 foodborne pathogens compared to the control treatment. In lettuce, propionic (0.93 to 1.52 log reduction), acetic (1.13 to 1.74 log reduction), lactic (1.87 to 2.54 log reduction), malic (2.32 to 2.98 log reduction), and citric acid (1.85 to 2.86 log reduction) showed significant (P < 0.05) effects compared to the control treatment. Changes in sample color subjected to organic acids treatment were not significant during storage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is suggested that organic acids have a potential as sanitizers for organic fresh produce. These data may help the organic produce industry provide safe fresh produce for consumers.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Food and Animal Biotechnology, Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, and Research Inst. for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul Natl. Univ., Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Mi-Ran
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Jeong-Woong
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ki-Hwan
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Myung-Sub
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Sangryeol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Dong-Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D058870:Food, Organic / Q000382:microbiology*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D005638:Fruit / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D018545:Lactuca / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D027845:Malus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D050296:Microbial Viability / Q000187:drug effects; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010858:Pigmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D005520:Food Preservatives