Whole-head washing, prior to cutting, provides sanitization advantages for fresh-cut Iceberg lettuce (Latuca sativa L.)

Sindy Palma-Salgado, Arne J. Pearlstein, Yaguang Luo, Hee Kyung Park, Hao Feng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The efficacy of two leafy produce wash methods, the traditional cutting-before-washing process and a new washing-before-cutting method, on reduction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated on Iceberg lettuce was compared. The washing tests were conducted in a pilot-scale washer using combinations of water, chlorine, peroxyacetic acid, and ultrasound. The washing-before-cutting process recorded an E. coli O157:H7 count reduction 0.79-0.80 log10 CFU/g higher than that achieved with the cutting-before-washing process in treatments involving only a sanitizer. When ultrasound was applied to the washing-before-cutting process, a further improvement of 0.37-0.68 log10 CFU/g in microbial count reduction was obtained, reaching total reductions of 2.43 and 2.24 log10 CFU/g for chlorine and peroxyacetic acid washes, respectively.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)18-23
Number of pages6
JournalInternational Journal of Food Microbiology
Volume179
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2 2014

Keywords

  • Lettuce
  • Sanitation method
  • Sanitizer
  • Ultrasound

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Microbiology

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