บทคัดย่องานวิจัย

Effect of gaseous chlorine dioxide treatment on killing Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris spores on apples

S. Y. LEE, D. H. Kang

Book of Abstracts, 2004 IFT (Institute of Food Technologists) Annual Meeting and Food Expo, 13-16 July 2004, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. 321 pages.

2004

บทคัดย่อ

Effect of gaseous chlorine dioxide treatment on killing Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris spores on apples Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris. a thermoacidophilic spore-forming bacterium. has been isolated from spoiled acidic fruit juices and is recognized as an economically important spoilage microorganism. A. acidoterrestris spores are very resistant to conventional pas­teurization treatments and can germinate and grow in bottled fruit juice products. Apples can become contaminated with this microorganism in the orchard and cause spoilage of apple juice. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of gaseous chlo­rine dioxide treatment in reducing levels of A. acidoterrestrisspores o­n apple surfaces. A. acidoterrestrisspores were inoculated o­nto apple surfaces followed by treatment with chlo­rine dioxide gas, generated from a gas sachet for 30 min, 1, and 3 h at room temperature in a tightly sealed 20 liter container. After treatment, surviving spores were enumerated with K agar. Gas-treated apples were stored at 4°C to assess the effect of gas treatment o­n fruit quality. Non-treated apples were used as a control. The chlorine dioxide concentration gen­erated by gas sachets was 5, 10, and 12 mg after 30 min, 1 and 3 h. respectively. After 30 min of exposure, spore levels were reduced by 1 log10 however, there was no significant differ­ence from the control (P> 0.05). After 1 and 3 h. there were about 2.7 and 4.5 log10 reductions of spore counts, respectively. Regarding apple quality, after 7 days storage some small black spots were found o­n the surfaces of apples treated with gas for 3 h, however, there was no significant difference between control and treated apples after 30 min or 1 h as treatment. Gaseous chlorine dioxide was effective at killing A. acidoterrestris spores o­n apple sur­faces, and the gas sachet was designed for use simple and easeuse. Therefore, it is expected that this product can be used in shipping boxes or containers during storage and transport of foods to improve microbial safety of foods.