Potential sanitizers and disinfectants for fresh fruits and vegetables: A comprehensive review

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are being eaten date back to primordial times, ultimately merging with farming, abandoning hunting and gathering.Fruits and vegetables are rich in various important micronutrients for example, vitamin A and C, folic acid, carotenoids, polyphenols, anthocyanins, and antioxidants, and are used in ancient Ayurvedic medical systems to treat different illnesses and ailments (Liguori et al., 2018).Raw fruits and vegetables have high water content and are perishable. They have a wide range of bacteria including spores on their exterior surface (Rawat, 2015). If contaminated water is used for rinsing/ cleaning them, it will add food-borne illness-inducing pathogens to the fresh produce (Kamarudin et al., 2018). Not only water, but also other known and unknown sources add Pseudomonas, Erwinia, Lactobacillus, Staphylococcus, Bacillus cereus, as well as viruses such as Hepatitis A Virus, Rotavirus, and Norwalk disease viruses that can be transmitted to the humans by consumption of raw fruits and vegetables (Miranda & Schaffner, 2019).Mostly, the outbreak in fruits and vegetables is associated with Cryptosporidium (20.5%), Salmonella (52.2%), and Norovirus (54.3%) in Europe and North America. Apart from this, vegetables are also observed to undergo outbreaks in Europe and North America at frequencies of 34.1% and 47.4%, respectively. Moreover, Aiyedun et al. ( 2021) reported 277 foodborne outbreaks in the American continent from 1999 to 2019.

Ultrasound applications in drying of fruits from a sustainable development goals perspective

“…Complete removal or inactivation of microorganisms during the washing and initial sanitization stage is usually achieved with the combination of ultrasound and other methods, such as heat, pressure, and the addition of sanitizers. The efficacy of the process depends on several factors, such as the resistance of the microorganisms to ultrasound, processing time, surface topology, and ultrasonic power density [57] , [58] , [59] .…”

Recent advances in activated water systems for the postharvest management of quality and safety of fresh fruits and vegetables

“…Commonly, a chlorine‐based solution (sodium or calcium hypochlorite) is used for washing FFVs (Chinchkar et al., 2022). However, studies have demonstrated that chlorine is ineffective against spores and viruses (Gerba et al., 2002).…”

“…However, studies have demonstrated that chlorine is ineffective against spores and viruses (Gerba et al., 2002). The effectiveness of chlorine is influenced by pH, temperature, FFVs type, and initial microflora population (Chinchkar et al., 2022). Additionally, FFVs washed with 100–200 mg L −1 of chlorine are rejected by European markets because of health and environmental concerns (Deng et al., 2020).…”

“…Therefore, postharvest washing (PW) is an important practice during processing and storage of FFVs. PW ensures safety of FFVs by removing residual soil, metals, pesticides, and microorganisms (Chinchkar et al., 2022). For fresh cut FFVs, it is important to rewash after cutting to clean/remove the exudates from shredded tissues, which alleviates microbial contamination and quality deterioration.…”

Use of an eco‐friendly preservation technology as a strategy to increase the microbiological shelf‐life of a novel ready‐to‐eat salad containing vegetable by‐products

“…In the production processes of these products, at least one disinfection step is typically required, often carried out using chlorine aqueous solutions. However, the use of chlorine disinfection leads to the formation of carcinogenic and toxic by‐products, which have detrimental effects on both the environment and human health (Chinchkar et al, 2022; Deng et al, 2020). Additionally, this step consumes significant amounts of water (Ignat et al, 2015), increasing the water footprint of the process and impacting the sustainability of the agri‐food chain.…”