Ozone application on ready-to-eat strawberries a food safety alternative to the chlorine use

• Autor(a) principal: Coelho, Caroline Corrêa de Souza
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Freitas-Silva, Otniel, Alcantara, Ivan, Silva, Janine Passos Lima da, Cabral, Lourdes Maria Correa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Vigilância Sanitária em Debate
• Texto Completo: https://visaemdebate.incqs.fiocruz.br/index.php/visaemdebate/article/view/437
• topic: Alimentos Minimamente Processados; Segurança Alimentar; Sanitizantes; Minimally Processed Foods; Food Safety; Sanitizants

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the sanitization process using aqueous ozone and chlorination in reducing the microbial load on strawberries subjected to minimal processing. Strawberries were selected, washed in tap water, and sanitized using the following treatments: T1) Immersion in aqueous ozone at 0.2 mg/L for 5 min; T2) Immersion in aqueous ozone at 0.5 mg/L for 5 min; T3) Immersion in aqueous ozone at 1.0 mg/L for 5 min; T4) Chlorination; T5) Control; or T6) Strawberries without sanitization (natural). After sanitization, the fruits were processed, drained, packaged, and stored under refrigeration at 5ºC ± 1ºC for 6 days. Microbiological analyses for coliforms at 35ºC (MPN/g) and counts of filamentous fungi and yeasts (CFU/g) were performed on the day of processing. Microbiological enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci, coliforms at 45ºC (MPN/g), and detection of Salmonella spp. were performed on the day of processing and again after 6 days of storage. The microbial count of total coliforms was observed only in T6. Treatments with aqueous ozone were more effective than treatment with chlorine in removing filamentous fungi and yeasts. Contamination by Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, and coliforms at 45ºC was not observed in the analyzed samples.