Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 Inactivation, Color, and Bioactive Compounds Enhancement on Raspberries during Frozen Storage after Decontamination Using New Formula Sanitizer Washing or Pulsed Light.

Berries are normally washed before they are frozen. Washing with sanitizer and treatment with pulsed light (PL) were studied for their effectiveness to inactivate foodborne pathogens on raspberries during frozen storage, while maintaining or enhancing major quality parameters. Raspberries were inoculated with Salmonella or Escherichia coli O157:H7 and then underwent a washing treatment with citric acid plus sodium dodecyl sulfate (CA+SDS) or citric acid plus thymol (CA+THY) or treatment with PL (dry PL, water-assisted [wet] PL, and PL-SDS). Pathogen survival was determined immediately after treatments and during frozen storage at -20°C for 3 months. Washing with CA+SDS or CA+THY significantly reduced Salmonella (by 3.6 and 3.2 log CFU/g, respectively) and E. coli O157:H7 (by 4.1 and 3.7 log CFU/g, respectively). At the end of storage, washing with CA+SDS reduced Salmonella to 0.6 log CFU/g and E. coli O157:H7 to 0.5 log CFU/g; washing with CA+THY reduced Salmonella to 0.9 log CFU/g and E. coli O157:H7 to 0.5 log CFU/g. PL-SDS showed decontamination efficacy on raspberries, with 0.7 log CFU/g Salmonella and 0.9 log CFU/g E. coli O157:H7 surviving at the end of storage; in comparison, in the control, 1.6 log CFU/g Salmonella and 1.5 log CFU/g E. coli O157:H7 survived. Pathogen survival in raspberries that had been washed or treated with PL-SDS was significantly lower than in untreated raspberries. Major quality parameters, including color, total phenolic content, total anthocyanin content, total bacterial count, and total yeast and mold counts, were evaluated on raspberries immediately after treatments and during frozen storage. Redness increased in PL-treated raspberries. At the end of storage, PL-treated raspberries had significantly higher total phenolic content and total anthocyanin content compared with control samples. Washing with sanitizers and treatment with PL decreased the total bacterial count and total yeast and mold counts on raspberries and maintained the low counts. Our findings suggest that washing with a sanitizer or treatment with PL could be used to process frozen raspberries for enhanced food safety and quality.