title: Inhibition effect of belzalkonium chloride treatment on growth of common food contaminating fungal species.
abstract: The improvement of disinfection applications for hard contact surfaces in food processing is critical for the control and prevention of disease-causing and food spoilage microorganisms. The objective in this study was to determine the efficiency of the antifungal agent benzalkonium chloride on growth and/or spore germination of postharvest fruit pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus spp., Penicillum spp., and Alternae alternate) in vitro. The benzalkonium chloride was found to be active against all fungal species but to a different extent. Addition of ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid and its sodium salt increased the sensitivity of fungi to benzalkonium chloride. Thus, integrated washing and sanitizing with benzalkonium chloride or homologous surface active compounds combined with ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid and its sodium salt is promising fungicide candidates for reducing fungal contamination of storage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey ; Institute for Physical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, D69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Pervin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Basaran
keywords: Antimicrobial packaging; Fungi; Fungicide; Inhibition; Surfactant