title: Thermal inactivation kinetics of hepatitis A virus in spinach.
abstract: Leafy vegetables have been recognized as important vehicles for the transmission of foodborne viral pathogens. To control hepatitis A viral foodborne illness outbreaks associated with mildly heated (e.g., blanched) leafy vegetables such as spinach, generation of adequate thermal processes is important both for consumers and the food industry. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the thermal inactivation behavior of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in spinach, and provide insights on HAV inactivation in spinach for future studies and industrial applications. The D-values calculated from the first-order model (50-72 °C) ranged from 34.40 ± 4.08 to 0.91 ± 0.12 min with a z-value of 13.92 ± 0.87 °C. The calculated activation energy value was 162 ± 11 kJ/mol. Using the information generated in the present study and the thermal parameters of industrial blanching conditions for spinach as a basis (100 °C for 120-180 s), the blanching of spinach in water at 100 °C for 120-180 s under atmospheric conditions will provide greater than 6 log reduction of HAV. The results of this study may be useful to the frozen food industry in designing blanching conditions for spinach to inactivate or control hepatitis A virus outbreaks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Tennessee, 2600 River Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-4591, USA.
authors.forename: Hayriye
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Tennessee, 2600 River Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-4591, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaofei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Tennessee, 2600 River Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-4591, USA.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Harte
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Tennessee, 2600 River Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-4591, USA. Electronic address: ddsouza@utk.edu.
authors.forename: Doris H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Tennessee, 2600 River Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-4591, USA.
authors.forename: P Michael
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Davidson
mesh_terms: D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000517:prevention & control*; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000502:physiology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007700:Kinetics; D018724:Spinacia oleracea / Q000821:virology*; D038301:Virus Inactivation
keywords: Arrhenius activation energy; D and z values; Spinach; Thermal inactivation