As demand for fresh-cut produce increases, minimizing the risk of salmonellosis becomes critical for the produce industry. Sanitizers are routinely used during commercial flume washing of fresh-cut produce to minimize cross-contamination from the wash water . This study assessed the efficacy of a novel sanitizer blend consisting of peracetic acid (OxypHresh 15) (PAA) with a sulfuric acid/surfactant (SS) antimicrobial (ProduceShield Plus) (PAA/SS) against Salmonella during simulated commercial washing of diced tomatoes. Triplicate 9.1 kg batches of Roma tomatoes were dip-inoculated in a two-strain avirulent Salmonella cocktail ( Salmonella Typhimurium LT2 and MHM112) to achieve 5~6 log CFU/tomato and air-dried for 2 h. After mechanical dicing, the tomatoes were washed in a pilot-scale processing line for 60 s with or without an added organic load in 90 ppm PAA/SS (pH 1.8), SS at pH 1.8, 90 ppm PAA, 5 or 10 ppm free chlorine or sanitizer-free water as the control. Overall, PAA/SS (1.75 ± 0.75 log CFU/g) was significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) more effective than water (0.69 ± 0.42 log CFU/g), chlorine (0.35 ± 0.36 log CFU/g), or SS (0.36 ± 0.19 log CFU/g) in reducing Salmonella . After washing for 20 s, PAA/SS was the only sanitizer to show a significant ( P ≤ 0.05) reduction (1.93 ±0.59 log CFU/g) in Salmonella. All wash water samples were negative for Salmonella , except for 5 and 10 ppm chlorine and the water control. Using PAA/SS with an organic load, yeast and mold populations were below the limit of detection (1.40 log CFU/g) and significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) lower on diced tomatoes after 14 days of refrigerated storage compared to the other treatments (8.37 ± 0.08 log CFU/g), with SS at pH 1.8 (3.91 ± 0.93 log CFU/g) most effective against yeast and mold in the absence of an organic load. Based on these findings, the safety and shelf-life of commercially washed diced tomatoes can be improved with PAA/SS.
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