Application of pulsed light technology for fruits and vegetables disinfection: A review

Abstract

Non-thermal technologies can maintain fruit and vegetable products quality better than traditional thermal processing. Pulsed light (PL) is a non-thermal method for microbial inactivation (vegetative cells and spores) in fruits and vegetables. The PL treatment involves the application of intense and short-duration pulses of broad spectrum wavelengths ranging from UV to near-infrared (100-1100 nm). This review summarized application of PL technology to control microbial contamination and increasing shelf-life of some fruits and vegetables including apple, blueberries, grape, orange, strawberries, carrot, lettuce, spinach, and tomato. The microbial inactivation in very short treatment times, low energy used by this system, flexibility for solid or liquid samples, few residual compounds and no synthetic chemicals that cause environmental pollution or harm humans, is benefits of PL technique. The efficiency of PL disinfection is closely associated with the input voltage, fluence (energy dose), composition of the emitted light spectrum, number of lamps, the distance between samples and light source, and frequency and number of applied pulses. The PL treatments control pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, so it facilitates the growth and development of the starter microorganisms affecting product quality.

Intense pulsed light for inactivating planktonic and biofilm molds in food

“…Hee-Jeong Hwang and colleagues found that the bactericidal effect of IPL varies considerably even in different liquid samples, such as in mineral water, carbonated drinks, and coffee, because of the differences in absorption properties and light transparency ( Hwang et al, 2015 ). The most important factor in determining the effectiveness of IPL inactivation is the beam incident on the sample, in addition to factors, such as product area, thickness, transparency, color, viscosity, presence of particulate matter, type of microorganism, and absorption characteristics of the food ( Salehi, 2022 ). One of the shortcomings of this study is that it does not show the bactericidal effect of IPL on bacteria on food, data on which we will subsequently publish in a separate paper.…”

Uncovering the transcriptional molecular dynamics of shelf life extension and system acquired resistance induction toFusarium pallidoroseumin melon fruits by the use of pulsed-light

“…In the case of acerolas (a brazilian berry), blueberries, strawberries and tomatoes, the optimal dose of PL, to control microorganism infection or to extend the shelf life, were identified as 0.6, 1.27, 1.27 and 2.2 J cm −2 , respectively (Macedo et al, 2023; Salehi, 2022). These berries and tomato, possess a thinner epicarp along with a softer physical barrier, which their optimal PL doses are lower than of melons.…”

Prevalence, serotype, antimicrobial susceptibility, contamination factors, and control methods of Salmonella spp. in retail fresh fruits and vegetables: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…PL is notably effective in killing foodborne pathogens on food surfaces without incurring detrimental effects on the food itself or invoking the use of potentially noxious or contaminating chemicals. For instance, the treatment of blueberries and strawberries with PL resulted in a 0.9 and 4.3 log CFU/g reduction in Salmonella , while preserving the nutritional composition of the blueberries (Cao et al., 2017; Salehi, 2022). Another investigative study showcased that PL treatment effectively inactivated Salmonella on the surface of lettuce, accomplishing a reduction of 5.40 log CFU/g (Tao et al., 2019).…”