Open AccessDemonstration of microbiological status of fresh fruits and determining the efficiency of different decontaminating agents against the isolated bacteria
Author(s) -
I.T. Nur,
U. Habiba,
F.S. Chowdhury,
T. Islam,
J. Mawa,
A.N. Mou
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
food research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.218
H-Index - 7
ISSN - 2550-2166
DOI - 10.26656/fr.2017.6(2).317
Subject(s) - disinfectant , tap water , sodium hypochlorite , food science , chemistry , psidium , acetic acid , syzygium , acetic acid bacteria , horticulture , biology , botany , fermentation , environmental science , biochemistry , organic chemistry , environmental engineering
Consumption of fresh fruits increases along with the promotion of healthier lifestyles.However, many foodborne illnesses have been reported due to the consumption ofcontaminated fruits. Fresh produces are subjected to various treatments for minimizingthese outbreaks. The present study demonstrates the role of various simple householdmethods including water washing and some other common chemical treatments for theremoval of bacterial load. By performing the spread plate technique, total heterotrophicbacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp., Salmonella spp. and Listeria spp. weredetermined in 60 samples of 6 categories including Apple (Malus domestica); Grape (Vitisvinifera); Guava (Psidium guajava); Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa); Indian jujube(Ziziphus mauritiana); Malabar plum (Syzygium cumini) before and after washing with tapwater, hot water, 100 mg/L sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), 50 mg/L calcium lactate, 4%acetic acid and 2 mL/L CleanAva for 20 mins at room temperature. All the testedsolutions were found to be effective and reduced bacterial loads in fruits compared to theunwashed fruits samples (P<0.01). Treatment with NaOCl, calcium lactate, acetic acid andCleanAva was the more effective washing technique rather than hot water wash. Two tothree log of the bacterial load was reduced when samples were subjected to treatment withchemical decontaminating agents. The efficiency of washing depends on the purity ofwater, and the types and concentration of the disinfectant solutions. An appropriatewashing technique needs to implicate to diminish bacterial load and the risk of foodborneinfections caused by fruits.