Combination of minimal processing and irradiation to improve the microbiological safety of lettuce (Lactuca sativa, L.)

Low‐Dose Irradiation Improves Microbial Quality and Shelf Life of Fresh Mint (Mentha piperita L.) without Compromising Visual Quality

“…Khattak and others (2005) reported D‐values for S. Paratyphi A as 0.25 and 0.29 kGy in cucumber and cabbage, respectively. Our D10 value for nalidixic‐acid‐resistant Salmonella was slightly lower than previously reported D10 values, but fell in the range reported by Goularte and others (2004). They reported D10 values from 0.16 to 0.23 kGy for Salmonella spp.…”

Extending and measuring the quality of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables: a review

“…The irradiation of minimally processed carrots improved their colour and flavour, although impaired the texture (Chervin & Boisseau, 1994). In minimally processed lettuce, doses of up to 0.5 kGy have been proved not to affect quality, and depending on the authors, quality was affected at irradiation levels of 0.81 or 1.1 kGy (Foley, Euper, Caporaso, & Prakash, 2004;Goularte et al, 2004;Hagenmaier & Baker, 1997;Niemira, Sommers, & Fan, 2002). Microbiological studies carried out in Cantaloupes (Boyntonet al, 2006) showed than samples irradiated had a lower and more stable rate of respiration than non-irradiated samples over about 20 days and total plate counts were significantly higher in non-irradiated control samples through storage.…”

Radiation processing of minimally processed vegetables and aromatic plants

“…E. coli O157:H7 has similar sensitivity on most products (0.14-0.16 kGy). Comparable values, from 0.108 to 0.122 kGy, were reported for E. coli on lettuce (Goularte et al, 2004). Irradiation at 0.55 and 1.05 kGy plus chlorination (200 mg/mL) produced a 5.4 and 7 log reduction in E. coli O157:H7 on lettuce and coriander respectively, while maintaining product quality (Foley et al, 2002(Foley et al, , 2004.…”