Ferulic acid agent (2% of ferulic acid), fumaric acid agent (20% of fumaric acid), mustard extract agent (10% of allyl isothiocyanate), and calcined calcium agent (91% of calcium) were assessed for reduction of endogenous microbial population on fresh-cut lettuce, cabbage, and cucumber in the preliminary study. In seeking effective minimum concentration, a 0.5% ferulic acid agent or 1.0% fumaric acid agent applied on lettuce, 0.1% mustard extract agent on cabbage, and 0.05% calcined calcium agent on cucumber reduced mesophilic aerobic bacteria (MAB) and coliform group (coliforms) by about 0.5 to 1.5 logs relative to water-dipped control. The efficacy of these antimicrobial agents with subsequent washing treatments with electrolyzed water (13 ppm of available chlorine) or ozonated water (5 ppm of ozone) on endogenous microorganism were evaluated with fresh-cut vegetables stored in MA package for 4 days at 10 °C. With lettuce, the fumaric acid agent followed by electrolyzed water treatment was the most effective in reducing counts of MAB, coliforms, and psychrotrophic aerobic bacteria (PAB) for the first 2 days of storage. This treatment eliminated gram-positive bacteria such as the genus Curtobacterium and gram-negative bacteria such as the genus Stenotrophomonas. With cucumber, fumaric acid agent or calcined calcium agent with sequential washing with electrolyzed water reduced counts of MAB, coliforms, PAB and lactic acid bacteria during 4 days of storage, with the reduction being greater with fumaric acid agent than with calcined calcium agent. With cabbage, the combinations of the agents and washing treatments had no pronounced effect when compared with water treatment.
(170) Reduction of Natural Microbial Population with Antimicrobial Agents and Subsequent Washing Treatments of Fresh-cut Vegetables
