Whole-head washing, prior to cutting, provides sanitization advantages for fresh-cut Iceberg lettuce (Latuca sativa L.).
The efficacy of two leafy produce wash methods, the traditional cutting-before-washing process and a new washing-before-cutting method, on reduction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated on Iceberg lettuce was compared. The washing tests were conducted in a pilot-scale washer using combinations of water, chlorine, peroxyacetic acid, and ultrasound. The washing-before-cutting process recorded an E. coli O157:H7 count reduction 0.79-0.80 log₁₀ CFU/g higher than that achieved with the cutting-before-washing process in treatments involving only a sanitizer. When ultrasound was applied to the washing-before-cutting process, a further improvement of 0.37-0.68 log₁₀ CFU/g in microbial count reduction was obtained, reaching total reductions of 2.43 and 2.24 log₁₀ CFU/g for chlorine and peroxyacetic acid washes, respectively.
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Sindy
S
Palma-Salgado
Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Arne J
AJ
Pearlstein
Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
Yaguang
Y
Luo
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Hee Kyung
HK
Park
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Electronic address: haofeng@illinois.edu.
Hao
H
Feng
D002713:Chlorine / Q000592:standards; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000592:standards; D019453:Escherichia coli O157; D005511:Food Handling / Q000592:standards*; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D018545:Lactuca / Q000382:microbiology*; D010463:Peracetic Acid / Q000592:standards; D013696:Temperature; D014465:Ultrasonics / Q000592:standards; D014867:Water / Q000592:standards
D004202:Disinfectants; D014867:Water; D002713:Chlorine; D010463:Peracetic Acid
Lettuce; Sanitation method; Sanitizer; Ultrasound