Dried fruits are popular ready-to-eat snacks. However, due to cross-contamination or contact with infected persons, Escherichia coli could be present, of which some strains are pathogenic, thus, the consumption of contaminated dried fruits could pose a public health risk. Microbial cells subjected to stress factors such as osmotic shock, radiation and antimicrobials could induce complex stress response systems and adaptation. Radiation and antimicrobials have been shown to cause an SOS response in E. coli, which affects cellular metabolism, such as the enhanced ability to repair DNA and mutagenesis. Studies have shown that glucose plays a critical role in the down-or upregulation of locus for enterocyte effacement (LEE)-encoded virulence of E. coli. Gamma radiation could also cause the formation of viable but nonculturable (VBNC) cells. If these cells are present in a sample, the number of viable cells will be underestimated by the plate count method leading to the false conclusion that the product is germ-free. We have reviewed in this article how stressors such as high sugar content, gamma radiation, and antimicrobials affect the survival of E. coli in dried fruits.

In our study, we were looking for an alternative to use of sea buckthorn pomace to open new opportunities. The dried pomace was extracted in a different method to achieve the highest antioxidant content. Ethanol and acetone were used as solvents, applied in different concentration. For the selection of the optimum extraction method, four spectrophotometric measurements were performed. With the best extract, three types of apple juice were made from apple juice concentrate by diluting it with different percentages of water and pomace extracts. The spectrophotometric measurements were also performed for juice samples to check the increase in amount of antioxidant components in the apple juice. Acceptability of enriched juices was determined by sensory evaluation and short market research. Based on the results the optimum extraction agent is 40 m/m % acetone for enriching apple juice. The results showed that there is a demand for the consumption of enriched juice with sea buckthorn pomace extracts and the fruit juice enriched with the 1:1 ratio of extract: water mixture is the most optimum according to sensory evaluators. Further examination could reveal whether the extracted antioxidant content of the pomace could be used as bio-preservatives in the food industry.