Antibacterial efficacy of ethyl pyruvate treatment against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium on cherry tomatoes

Abstract

Cherry tomatoes inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium were treated with vaporised ethyl pyruvate (EP). The changes of microbial and organoleptic properties of the samples during storage were investigated at two temperatures (4 and 10 °C) and four EP concentrations (0, 42, 105, and 420 ppm) for 7 days at 4 °C and for 5 days 10 °C. After 3 days, 4.3 log and 3.6 log reductions in E. coli O157:H7 numbers were detected in cherry tomatoes treated with 42 ppm EP at 4 °C and at 10 °C, respectively. The highest EP treatment (420 ppm) led to 5.7 log CFU g−1 E. coli O157:H7 reduction after 1 day at 4 and 10 °C. The reduction of Salmonella Typhimurium on samples treated with 420 ppm EP was 7.7 log CFU g–1 after 1 day at 4 °C, and 6.9 log after 1 day at 10 °C. The treatment of EP can be effective at decreasing pathogen populations and can protect the organoleptic and colour properties of fresh produce.

The utilization of vaporized ethyl pyruvate for decontamination of lettuce from E. coli O157:H7

“…Nevertheless, the antimicrobial effect of EP was greater at 4 °C. Several research studies have reported that 10 °C exhibits greater efficacy in terms of bacterial inactivation (Durak et al, 2012;Ucak Ozkaya et al, 2021). While the dipping method was used for inoculation in the present study, the study conducted by Ucak Ozkaya et al ( 2021) involved the attachment of bacteria onto the surface of tomato samples through the utilization of the spot inoculation technique.…”

“…According to the evaluation conducted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), EP has been categorized as being safe for consumption in food products. A research group first reported that vaporized EP could be used to decontaminate green onion and baby spinach (Durak et al, 2012) followed by parsley decontamination by Tornuk and Durak (2015), control of postharvest quality and fungal damage of strawberry and cherry fruits by Bozkurt et al (2016), reduction of Salmonella Enteritidis in raw chicken meat by Çetin et al (2019), inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes on sausage surface by Cetin et al (2019) and recently EP treatment against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium on cherry tomatoes by Ucak Ozkaya et al (2021). This study aimed to examine the efficacy of vaporized EP decontamination in reducing the presence of E. coli O157:H7 on lettuce samples.…”