Gaseous chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is a promising sanitizer for frozen products because of its efficacy under nonthermal and waterless conditions. A major knowledge gap exists between laboratory trials and effectiveness at the industrial scale. To address this, a pilot study implementing a pallet‐sized fumigation container (60 harvest totes) was designed for gaseous ClO2. Fifty kilograms of blueberries were exposed to initial dose of 57.46 mg/L, representing a treatment of 2.35 mg/g of blueberries. Blueberries remained enclosed for 10 hr. Reduction of all viable cells, coliforms, yeasts, and molds were measured by plating treated samples on Tryptic Soy Agar, Violet Red Bile Agar, and Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol Agar and compared to untreated controls. The results demonstrate that a significant reduction of 1.5 log CFU/g can be achieved against coliforms after ClO2 exposure. Our findings demonstrate a cost‐effective procedure that could be adapted to commercial processing.
KSWFoodWorld
FoodWorld 