Removal of Yersinia enterocolitica from fresh parsley by washing with acetic acid or vinegar.

Different washing procedures and solutions were applied to fresh parsley and the effect on artificially contaminated Y. enterocolitica and the natural population of aerobic bacteria was determined. Dipping the parsley containing 10(7) Y. enterocolitica per gram into the 2% (v/v) acetic acid or 40% (v/v) vinegar solutions for 15 min exerted pronounced bactericidal effect against this organism. No viable aerobic bacteria were recovered after 30 min dip in 5% (v/v) acetic acid, whereas vinegar led to 3-6 log10 cycles decrease in the number of aerobic bacteria depending on vinegar concentration and holding time.