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Effect of acidified sodium chlorite applications on microbial growth and the quality of shredded carrots.

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Date

Nov. 2006

Authors

Ruiz-Cruz, S., Luo, Y., Gonzalez, R., Tao, Y., and Gonzalez, G.

Journal

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

Citation

v. 86. n. 12. pp. 1887-1893.

Abstract

The efficacy of acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) application at different concentrations on the physiological changes, microbial growth and quality of shredded carrots was evaluated. Shredded carrots were immersed for 1 min. in 100, 250, or 500 Ã?Æ?ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?µl L-1 ASC solutions, or for 2 min in 200 Ã?Æ?ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?µl L-1 chlorine or water control. Treated samples were spin-dried and packaged in polypropylene bags and stored at 5 Ã?Æ?ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?°C for up to 21 days. At 7-day intervals, carrots were removed from the storage and evaluated for sensory quality, package atmosphere composition (O2 and CO2), product firmness, tissue electrolyte leakage and pH. The microbial growth including total aerobic bacteria counts, total coliforms/E. coli, molds and yeasts counts, and lactic acid bacteria counts, on the products was also determined. Treatments with all concentrations of ASC reduced 1.2 to 2.0 log cfu g-1 aerobic bacteria count, coliforms/E.coli counts, molds and yeasts counts, and lactic acid bacteria populations, compared with water washed and unwashed samples. During storage, shredded carrots received no wash treatment had a sharp increase in lactic acid bacteria populations accompanied by a sharp decline in pH readings and rapid loss in texture and tissue integrity; samples washed with 100 Ã?Æ?ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?µl L-1 ASC maintained the best overall visual quality, accompanied by the retention of tissue integrity and texture. The treatment with 100 Ã?Æ?ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?µl L-1 ASC was determined to be the optimum concentration of ASC for maintaining overall quality and firmness, inhibiting microbial growth, and prolonging shelf life of shredded carrots.