Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science & Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China.
Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science & Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China.
Ultrason Sonochem. 2024 Jul;107:106926. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2024.106926. Epub 2024 May 24.
The consumption of ready-to-eat fresh produce raises the issue of food-borne pathogen infections; thus, disinfecting ready-to-eat produce for commercial use, such as in homes and restaurants, is important to ensure food safety. Chemical sanitizers are typically used for disinfection. Ultraviolet-light emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) are a novel non-thermal disinfection technology that consumes less energy and generates less heat than traditional UV lamps, making them more appealing to consumers. In this study, we combined ultrasonic (US) washing method with UV-LEDs (US-UV-LEDs) to develop a technique for disinfecting fresh produce without using chemical sanitizers and compared its efficacy with three common household sanitizers ("84" (sodium hypochlorite) disinfectant, kettle descaler (citric acid), and vinegar (acetic acid)). In addition, we investigated the efficacy of this method in controlling pathogen numbers in the water used to wash (washing water) the produce to prevent cross-contamination between water and produce. Cherry tomatoes and lettuce were selected as produce models and Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 were used as the bacterial models. The results showed that US-UV-LEDs reduced the numbers of S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 on produce by 2.1-2.2 log CFU/g, consistent with the results achieved by the three household sanitizers; however, kettle descaler and vinegar had a limited effect (2.6-3.5 log CFU/mL) on residual pathogens in the washing water. Furthermore, we created washing water with low (754 mg/L) and high (1425 mg/L) chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels and determined the disinfection efficacy of "84" disinfectant and US-UV-LEDs. The results showed that US-UV-LEDs reduced the number of S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 by 2.0-2.1 and 1.8-2.1 log CFU/g under low and high COD levels, respectively, which was similar a result to that of "84" disinfectant. However, the residual pathogen numbers in the washing water were reduced to 1.4-1.9 log CFU/mL after treatment with US-UV-LED under high COD, whereas the pathogens were undetected in the washing water disinfected with "84" disinfectant. These results suggest that US-UV-LEDs have better application potential than acidic household sanitizers, but chlorine sanitizer remains the most effective disinfecting method.
食用即食新鲜农产品会引发食源性病原体感染问题；因此，为确保食品安全，对商业用即食农产品（如家庭和餐厅使用的农产品）进行消毒十分重要。化学消毒剂通常用于消毒。紫外线发光二极管（UV-LED）是一种新颖的非热消毒技术，与传统紫外线灯相比，它消耗的能量更少，产生的热量也更少，因此更受消费者欢迎。在这项研究中，我们将超声（US）清洗方法与 UV-LED（US-UV-LED）相结合，开发了一种无需使用化学消毒剂即可对新鲜农产品进行消毒的技术，并将其效果与三种常见的家用消毒剂（“84”（次氯酸钠）消毒剂、水壶除垢剂（柠檬酸）和醋（乙酸））进行了比较。此外，我们还研究了该方法在控制用于清洗农产品的水中（洗涤水）病原体数量方面的效果，以防止水和农产品之间的交叉污染。我们选择樱桃番茄和生菜作为农产品模型，选择肠炎沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌 O157：H7 作为细菌模型。结果表明，US-UV-LED 可使农产品上的肠炎沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌 O157：H7 数量减少 2.1-2.2logCFU/g，与三种家用消毒剂的效果一致；然而，水壶除垢剂和醋对洗涤水中残留的病原体的效果有限（2.6-3.5logCFU/mL）。此外，我们创建了化学需氧量（COD）水平分别为低（754mg/L）和高（1425mg/L）的洗涤水，并确定了“84”消毒剂和 US-UV-LED 的消毒效果。结果表明，US-UV-LED 可使低和高 COD 水平下的肠炎沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌 O157：H7 的数量分别减少 2.0-2.1 和 1.8-2.1logCFU/g，与“84”消毒剂的效果相似。然而，在用 US-UV-LED 处理后，高 COD 下洗涤水中的残留病原体数量减少到 1.4-1.9logCFU/mL，而用“84”消毒剂消毒的洗涤水中则检测不到病原体。这些结果表明，US-UV-LED 的应用潜力优于酸性家用消毒剂，但含氯消毒剂仍然是最有效的消毒方法。
