Disinfection with neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water to reduce microbial load and to prevent biofilm regrowth in the processing of fresh-cut vegetables

Abstract

Product decontamination is one of the most important processes of the hygienic practice in food industries such as Minimally Processed Vegetables (MPV) plants and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions are commonly used as a biocide for disinfection. Although it may be corrosive and irritating when compared to alternative biocides, this biocide is frequently applied at high concentrations. This work aims at studying the use of lower concentrations of chlorine by testing neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water (NEOW) as a chlorine-source disinfectant in fresh-cut salad processing. Assays were performed at industrial and laboratory scale. Results showed that lower doses of chlorine from NEOW (30 ppm) are as effective as higher concentrations of the traditional chlorine from NaOCl (80 ppm) in the reduction of total microbial population at industrial scale. Moreover, in laboratory studies, the NEOW chlorine was also more effective in biofilm eradication, as well as a biofilm preventive agent. NEOW can thus be a successful alternative water disinfection technique, reducing the free chlorine concentration needed to sanitize salads, also decreasing water consumption whilst taking into account environmental and food quality impacts.

Food Safety Interventions to Control Listeria monocytogenes in the Fresh Apple Packing Industry: A Review

“…Similar findings were presented by Machado et al (2016) who reported that slightly acidic EW with a lower concentration of chlorine (30 ppm) was as effective as higher concentrations of the C 2019 Institute of Food Technologists ® Vol. 18, 2019 r Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 1715 traditional chlorine from NaOCl (80 ppm) in reducing microbial loads on fresh cut vegetables.…”

“…Similar findings were presented by Machado et al. () who reported that slightly acidic EW with a lower concentration of chlorine (30 ppm) was as effective as higher concentrations of the traditional chlorine from NaOCl (80 ppm) in reducing microbial loads on fresh cut vegetables. It needs to be highlighted that this study was conducted in a laboratory setting, but on industrial sized equipment, which better simulated the industrial conditions.…”

Preservative Effect of Novel Combined Treatment with Electrolyzed Active Water and Lysozyme Enzyme to Increase the Storage Life of Vacuum-Packaged Carp

“…As a result, acidic water (pH 2.3-2.7 and redox potential [ORP] > 1100 mV) is generated on the anode side of the membrane-separated space, in which chloride ion (Cl − ), hypochlorous acid (HOCl), and diluted hydrochloric acid are concentrated [7]. On the other side of the membrane-separated space, alkaline water (pH 10-11.5 and ORP < 800 mV) is generated, in which sodium ion (Na + ) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) are concentrated [8]. Acidic electrolyzed water (AEO) is an effective antimicrobial agent, but it can also be used to remove other kinds of contaminants [9].…”

Effect of platinum electrode materials and electrolysis processes on the preparation of acidic electrolyzed oxidizing water and slightly acidic electrolyzed water

“…Such preparation method can avoid the use of hydrochloric acid, but there are few studies on process optimization except Machado. 57 Therefore, in this paper, the effects of process conditions such as electrolysis time, current density and electrolyte concentration have been systematically studied to get SAEW with a pH slightly less than 7, a higher ORP value and a certain amount of ACC.…”