Department of Animal Science, 8082The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, United States.
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 8082The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, United States.
Food Sci Technol Int. 2022 Dec;28(8):663-671. doi: 10.1177/10820132211049610. Epub 2021 Oct 12.
Contact with continuous belt conveyors during processing results in opportunities for pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms to contaminate meat products. The objective of this project is to investigate the germicidal response on the surface of food-grade conveyor belt materials treated with pulsed ultraviolet (PUV) light. Four conveyor belt types including: a stainless-steel chain-link belt, a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-coated fabric belt, a solid pliable polymer belt, and a rigid-linked polymer belt, were evaluated for the inactivation of K12-NSR strain and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Prior to bacterial inoculation, samples were classified as soiled or unsoiled, based on the presence or absence of pork intramuscular fluid on the surfaces of the conveyor samples. Using a variable speed conveyor, equipped with a Xenon flashlamp positioned 10-cm above the surface, each belt sample was exposed to PUV light at three fixed conveyor speeds: 3.05, 15.24, and 30.48 cm/sec, resulting in a total energy exposure of 3.31, 0.66 and 0.33 J/cm, respectively. For samples inoculated with K12-NSR, the surface condition (soiled or unsoiled) by treatment interaction was significant for microbial inactivation on the surface of the rigid polymer linked belt (P < 0.05). For samples inoculated with the LAB cocktail, the same interaction was significant for the PTFE-coated fabric belt and the solid pliable polymer belt (P < 0.05). Microbial reduction ranged from 0.74 to 5.04 log CFU/cm for K12-NSR and 0.63 to 4.61 Log CFU/cm for LAB for the evaluated treatment parameters. The results of this project demonstrate that PUV light is an effective means of decontamination for conveyor belts during food processing.
在加工过程中与连续输送带接触会为病原微生物和腐败微生物污染肉类产品提供机会。本项目的目的是研究经脉冲紫外线（PUV）处理的食品级输送带材料表面的杀菌响应。评估了四种输送带类型，包括：不锈钢链节输送带、聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）涂层织物输送带、实心柔韧聚合物输送带和刚性连接聚合物输送带，以灭活 K12-NSR 菌株和乳酸菌（LAB）。在细菌接种之前，根据输送带样品表面是否存在猪肉肌内液，将样品分为污染或未污染。使用配备 Xenon 闪光灯的变速输送带，闪光灯位于表面上方 10cm 处，每个输送带样品在三个固定输送带速度下暴露于 PUV 光下：3.05、15.24 和 30.48 cm/sec，分别产生 3.31、0.66 和 0.33 J/cm 的总能量暴露。对于接种 K12-NSR 的样品，表面状况（污染或未污染）与处理相互作用对刚性聚合物连接带表面的微生物失活具有重要意义（P<0.05）。对于接种 LAB 鸡尾酒的样品，相同的相互作用对 PTFE 涂层织物带和实心柔韧聚合物带具有重要意义（P<0.05）。对于评估的处理参数，K12-NSR 的微生物减少范围为 0.74 至 5.04 log CFU/cm，LAB 的微生物减少范围为 0.63 至 4.61 Log CFU/cm。本项目的结果表明，PUV 光对于食品加工过程中输送带的消毒是一种有效的方法。
