Effect of sheeting pressure on the viability of Escherichia coli during noodle processing

Abstract

SummaryEscherichia coli is known to easily contaminate noodles and form biofilms during noodle processing. Sheeting was a key step in the processing. The objective of our study was to investigate the influence of sheeting pressure on the viability of E. coli. Our findings revealed a significant reduction in the E. coli count (by 1.46 log CFU g−1), as well as their swimming diameter (by 46.7%) and biofilm formation (by 25.7%) following an additional 20 sheeting treatments. The expression of genes (flhC, flhD, rpoS, csgD and adrA) validated the weakening of E. coli survival due to sheeting pressure. Moreover, the alterations in dough texture properties had adverse effects on the survival of E. coli. These results highlight that sheeting pressure can effectively reduce E. coli viability in dough. The implications of our findings provide valuable insights for minimising microbial contamination in noodle production.