Influence of disinfectant technologies on red bell peppers safety

• Author(s): Alexandre, E. M. C. ; Fundo, J. F. ; Pedro, D. Santos ; Brandão, T. R. S. ; Silva, C. L. M.
• Date: 2006
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/5165
• Origin: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
• Subject(s): Fruits and vegetables; Safety; Innovative technologies; Ozone; Hydrogen peroxide; Sodium hypochlorite
• Document Type: Conference Object
• Language: English

Description

The development of innovative technologies, promoting fruits and vegetables safety to reduce the risk of related food-borne diseases, is an actual concern. Several sanitizing agents for washing fruits and vegetables may be used to reduce the risk of microbial contamination. Traditional washing technologies utilize chlorine and hydrogen peroxide as sanitizing agents for fresh produce. More recently, ozone is being used as an innovative food processing technology that guarantees product safety, also increasing shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Its main advantage, when compared to traditional disinfectant technologies, relies on its potent antimicrobial action and non-toxic products decomposition. The objective of this work was to study the effectiveness of three sanitizing agents (sodium hypochlorite - used in a commercial available solution AMUKINA, hydrogen peroxide and ozone in aqueous solutions), on the reduction of Listeria innocua inoculated on red bell peppers. Results showed that ozone treatment allowed bacteria reductions identical to the ones attained with the traditional disinfectant solutions. On average, aqueous ozone allowed a decimal reduction of 2 cycles in Listeria innocua counts.