Effectiveness of Aqueous Chlorine Dioxide in Minimizing Food Safety Risk Associated with Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes on Sweet Potatoes

Abstract

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is a commonly used sanitizer in the produce industry despite its limited effectiveness against contaminated human pathogens in fresh produce. Aqueous chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) is an alternative sanitizer offering a greater oxidizing potency with greater efficacy in reducing a large number of microorganisms. We investigated the effect of aqueous chlorine dioxide treatment against human pathogens, Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes seeded on sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were spot inoculated (4.2 to 5.7 log CFU/cm2) with multi-strain cocktails of Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes and treated for 10–30 min with 5 ppm aqueous ClO2 or water. Aqueous ClO2 treatment was significantly (p < 0.05) effective in reducing Salmonella with a reduction of 2.14 log CFU/cm2 within 20 min compared to 1.44 log CFU/cm2 for water treatment. Similar results were observed for L. monocytogenes with a 1.98 log CFU/cm2 reduction compared to 0.49 log CFU/cm2 reduction observed after 30 min treatment with aqueous ClO2 the water respectively. The maximum reduction in E. coli O157: H7 reached 2.1 Log CFU/cm2 after 20 min of treatment with aqueous ClO₂. The level of the pathogens in ClO2 wash solutions, after the treatment, was below the detectable limit. While in the water wash solutions, the pathogens’ populations ranged from 3.47 to 4.63 log CFU/mL. Our study indicates that aqueous ClO2 is highly effective in controlling cross-contamination during postharvest washing of sweet potatoes.

Management of Listeria monocytogenes on Surfaces via Relative Air Humidity: Key Role of Cell Envelope

“…Chlorine compounds are widely used as sanitizing agents in the food industry and drinkable water treatments. Several studies have shown the inactivation effects of such chlorine compounds on L. monocytogenes [ 54 , 55 ]. The lethal effect could be explained by membrane damage leading to a loss of permeability control [ 56 , 57 ].…”

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategies of Teachers and Students in Financial Colleges and Universities Under the Direction of Food Security

“…Food is the material basis for human survival ( Polychronou et al, 2020 ). Food security refers to the fact that everyone can buy and afford the food they need without being affected by time and space ( Luu et al, 2020 ). The food must not cause any harm to the human body first, and secondly it can satisfy the nutritional needs ( Vikram et al, 2020 ).…”

Bactericidal Mechanisms of Chlorine Dioxide against Beta-Hemolytic Streptococcus CMCC 32210

“…Chlorine dioxide is a strong oxidant with an antimicrobial activity that is often recommended for use as a disinfectant, even at low concentrations, to kill microorganisms [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. As such, chlorine dioxide is a broad-spectrum [ 5 ], safe, and efficient disinfectant [ 6 , 7 ] due to its high oxidation efficiency and its ability to reduce the formation of organic chlorination by-products during the application, and has been used in a wide range of applications including disinfection of water [ 8 ] and wastewater [ 9 ], medical devices [ 10 , 11 ], agricultural products [ 12 , 13 , 14 ], and Stomatology [ 15 ].…”