title: Sanitizer efficacy in preventing cross-contamination of heads of lettuce during retail crisping.
abstract: This study was conducted to provide information regarding mitigation of cross-contamination through the use of sanitizer during crisping at retail outlets. Seven non-inoculated heads and one inoculated head (≈5 log CFU/g) of lettuce were placed into commercial sink filled with 76 L of tap water (TW), electrolyzed water (EW, free chlorine: 43 ± 6 ppm), lactic acid and phosphoric acid-based sanitizer (LPA, pH 2.89), or citric acid-based sanitizer (CA, pH 2.78) and soaked for 5 min. Two subsequent batches (eight non-inoculated heads per batch) were soaked in the same solution. Soaking with EW significantly reduced the population of S. enterica (2.8 ± 1.5 log CFU/g), E. coli O157:H7 (3.4 ± 1.1 log CFU/g), and L. monocytogenes (2.6 ± 0.7 log CFU/g) inoculated on Romaine lettuce compared to TW, LPA, and CA (p < 0.05). On Red leaf lettuce, EW significantly reduced populations of S. enterica and E. coli O157:H7, but not L. monocytogenes compared to other treatments. No significant difference was noted between TW, LPA, and CA in reducing foodborne pathogens (p > 0.05) or preventing cross-contamination. Soaking with EW prevented cross-contamination among lettuce heads and controlled bacterial populations in crisping water for three consecutive batches. EW may be an effective option as a sanitizer to minimizing the cross-contamination of leafy greens during the retail crisping.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, United States.
authors.forename: Yangjin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, United States.
authors.forename: Hyein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, United States.
authors.forename: Mengqi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, United States.
authors.forename: Jingwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, United States. Electronic address: matthews@sebs.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Karl R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004572:Electrolysis; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000187:drug effects; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005511:Food Handling; D005516:Food Microbiology; D059022:Food Safety; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D018545:Lactuca / Q000382:microbiology*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000187:drug effects; D012475:Salmonella / Q000187:drug effects; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants; D014867:Water
keywords: Crisping; Cross-contamination; Electrolyzed water; Heads of lettuce; Retail settings; Sanitizers