Research Group on Quality, Safety, and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
Research Group on Quality, Safety, and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
Food Microbiol. 2020 Jun;88:103409. doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2019.103409. Epub 2019 Dec 24.
The washing stage from a bell pepper commercial packinghouse was assessed to study some of the critical control points related to bacterial cross-contamination. The washing line comprised two overhead spray bars applications: a pre-wash step without peroxyacetic acid (PAA), and a wash step with PAA. The physicochemical characteristics of the wash water and the bacterial quality and safety of the wash water and bell peppers (including aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB), Salmonella spp., and Shiga-toxigenic E. coli (STEC)) were studied. Additionally, the performance of commercial test methods (reflectometry, amperometric probe, chronoamperometric sensor) for measuring the residual concentration of PAA was examined. The bacterial load of the pre-wash water (8.7 ± 1.3 log cfu/100 mL AMB) was very high and thus peppers after the pre-wash showed a significantly higher bacterial load (4.9 ± 0.9 log cfu/g AMB) than the unwashed (3.8 ± 0.7 log cfu/g AMB) or the washed peppers (3.3 ± 0.8 log cfu/g AMB) (p < 0.05). However, no pathogenic bacteria were detected in bell pepper samples (n = 40), and only one water sample was confirmed positive for STEC (n = 64, 1.6% prevalence). The chronoamperometric sensor (PAASense) and the online amperometric probe showed similar results, while the reflectometry (Quantofix) significantly sub estimated (p < 0.05) PAA concentration. The results obtained highlight the need for interventions to improve hygiene in the washing line to ensure the microbiological quality and safety of bell peppers. The maintenance of optimal PAA concentrations in all the washing steps is critical for reducing the chance of water-mediated cross-contamination.
从一个辣椒商业包装厂的清洗阶段进行了评估，以研究与细菌交叉污染相关的一些关键控制点。清洗线包括两个头顶喷雾杆应用程序：没有过氧乙酸（PAA）的预清洗步骤和使用 PAA 的清洗步骤。研究了洗水的物理化学特性以及洗水和辣椒（包括好氧嗜温菌（AMB）、沙门氏菌和产志贺毒素大肠杆菌（STEC））的细菌质量和安全。此外，还检查了商业测试方法（反射计、安培计探头、计时安培传感器）测量 PAA 残留浓度的性能。预洗水（8.7±1.3 log cfu/100 mL AMB）的细菌负荷非常高，因此预洗后的辣椒比未洗（3.8±0.7 log cfu/g AMB）或洗过的辣椒（3.3±0.8 log cfu/g AMB）的细菌负荷显著更高（p<0.05）。然而，在辣椒样品（n=40）中未检测到致病菌，只有一个水样被证实为 STEC 阳性（n=64，1.6%的流行率）。计时安培传感器（PAASense）和在线安培计探头显示出相似的结果，而反射计（Quantofix）则显著低估（p<0.05）了 PAA 浓度。研究结果强调需要采取干预措施来改善清洗线的卫生状况，以确保辣椒的微生物质量和安全。在所有清洗步骤中保持最佳 PAA 浓度对于减少水介导的交叉污染机会至关重要。
