Inactivation of Salmonella Typhimurium on red chili peppers by treatment with gaseous chlorine dioxide followed by drying.

Inactivation of Salmonella Typhimurium on red chili peppers by treatment with gaseous chlorine dioxide followed by drying. Food Microbiol. 2018 Dec;76:78-82 Authors: Lee H, Beuchat LR, Ryu JH, Kim H Abstract Chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) powder and other powdered spices containing chili peppers are occasionally contaminated with foodborne pathogens. We applied chlorine dioxide (ClO2) gas treatment to chili peppers prior to drying to inactivate Salmonella Typhimurium. Chili peppers inoculated with S. Typhimurium were exposed to ClO2 gas generated from 0.77 mL of aqueous ClO2 for 6 h at 25 °C and 100% relative humidity, followed by air drying at 55 °C for up to 24 h. Populations of S. Typhimurium and total aerobic bacteria (TAB) on peppers, chromaticity values, and moisture content were determined after various treatment times. S. Typhimurium (ca. 5.6 log cfu/g) was reduced to <0.7 log cfu/g of peppers treated with ClO2 gas for 0.5 h at 25 °C, but was detected by enrichment (>1 cfu/10.8 g) after treatment for 4 h. The pathogen was not detected after treatment with ClO2 gas for 6 h. S. Typhimurium did not decrease significantly (P > 0.05) on peppers exposed to air at 25 °C for 6 h, but rapidly decreased to 1.6 log cfu/g after subsequent drying for 6 h at 55 °C. The initial number of TAB (ca. 6.5 log cfu/g) decreased to 1.4 log cfu/g after treatment with ClO2 gas for 0.5 h and w...
Source: Food Microbiology - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Food Microbiol Source Type: research