A Comparison between Chlorinated Water and Ozonated Water as an Antimicrobial Treatment during Tempering of Wheat

Background and objectives Awareness toward the microbial quality of wheat has been raised due to the foodborne illness and outbreaks associated with contaminated wheat flour. The objective is to describe the studied strategies to control the potential hazardous pathogens in wheat grain and wheat flour. Findings Before the dry milling process, adding antimicrobial agents to the tempering water has been considered. To preserve gluten integrity and functionality, nonthermal technologies have been explored. Traditional thermal food decontamination methods have also been tested. Conclusions Bacterial and mold load reductions from >1 to >5 log CFU/g have been achieved with tempering agents, without compromising flour functionality. From the nonthermal technologies, pulsed light treatments reduced Salmonella load on flour, while cold plasma was effective versus fungal conidia on grain. Regarding thermal technologies, the vacuum steam treatment reduced Escherichia coli and Salmonella populations on grain without affecting flour properties. Radio frequency heating was also effective to reduce Salmonella load on flour, but its impact on functionality was not reported. Significance and novelty Most of the decontamination methods have been tested on wheat grain. If a significant microbial load reduction is achieved, further flour contamination can be prevented. However, flour decontamination methods should continue to be explored, without compromising flour functionality.

Section: Ozonementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ozonementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ozonementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pathogens control on wheat and wheat flour: A review

López

Şimşek

2020

“…For several decades, the low water activity (0.85 and below) found in these products has contributed to the acceptance that from a microbiological point of view, these foods were of no public health concern . However, several studies on the microbial quality of wheat have been carried out over the last two decades due to the increasing awareness of its potential for contamination with pathogens (Dhillon et al, 2007;Eglezos, 2010;Laca et al, 2006;Myoda et al, 2019;Sabillón et al, 2020). These studies show that the microbiological quality of wheat grain is a major contributor to the loss of quality and safety of milled products and other grain-based foods (Berghofer et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of lactic acid in association with steam in reducing microorganisms in hard red winter wheat

Musa,

Stratton,

Rose

et al. 2023

Background and ObjectivesEven though wheat‐based products are a low‐moisture food, and most of the finished products are thermally processed, there have been several reported outbreaks associated with wheat flour. The objective of this study was (a) to evaluate the effect of steam alone or in combination with lactic acid, to reduce the natural microbial load of hard red winter wheat, and (b) to evaluate the impact of these interventions on the functional properties of hard wheat flour.FindingsHard red winter wheat was treated by adding acid to the tempering water, steaming the kernels, or adding a combination of both. Samples were placed on sieves (bed depth 0.5 and 1.0 cm) for those treatments where steam was included and then treated in a steam table until grain temperature achieved 80°C and 85°C. After treatment was applied, wheat was allowed to temper to 15.5% moisture. The combination of acid and steam achieved the highest overall microbial reductions, with 4.0, 4.1, and 4.3 log CFU/g, for APC, Eb, and coliforms, respectively. When flour functionality was evaluated, the interventions applied resulted in some minor differences for individual parameters associated with pasting properties, baking performance, and bread image analysis.ConclusionsThe addition of lactic acid and steam effectively enhanced the microbiological quality of hard wheat and the consequent flour, with no compromise in its functional properties.Significance and NoveltyThis research addresses the food safety concern of microbial contamination in wheat flour and introduces a novel method involving lactic acid and steam treatment to significantly reduce microbial loads without compromising the flour's functional properties.

Control of Salmonella in wheat grains with sodium bisulfate tempering and its impact on flour quality

Doddabematti Prakash,

Rivera,

Siliveru

2023

Background and ObjectivesIn the last decade, the incidence of foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls connected with wheat flour and flour‐based goods infected with enteric bacteria such as Salmonella has grown. This study investigated the activity of sodium bisulfate (SBS) as an antibacterial agent against four different serovars of Salmonella enterica.FindingsThe dose‐dependent, anti‐Salmonella concentration of SBS revealed a minimum inhibitory activity (MIC) of 0.32%. At this concentration, SBS induced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) demonstrating that lysis of bacterial cells has occurred. SBS tempering (1.5% SBS, w/v) reduced wheat Salmonella load by 4.3 log CFU/g after 24h of tempering. Additionally, tempering at 0% (control) and 1.5% SBS (17% moisture, 24 h) showed similar (p > 0.05) flour functionality (rheology and composition) and baking characteristics (volume, texture, and crumb structure).ConclusionThese results suggest that SBS is a viable antibacterial tempering agent to reduce Salmonella contamination in wheat before milling.Significance and noveltyAcidic water tempering, as opposed to the traditional water tempering method, may result in milled products with improved microbiological quality.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.