Abstract
Edible films can be designed to serve as carriers of antimicrobial agents and be used to control pathogenic foodborne viruses and bacteria. This research tested this concept by dissolving green tea extract (GTE) in chitosan film-forming solutions (FFS) and using it to prepare dried chitosan edible films. As a control, the GTE was also dissolved in deionized water (DW). The FFS and the dried chitosan films with the GTE and the DW without chitosan were all evaluated against murine norovirus (MNV-1), Escherichia coli K12, and Listeria innocua. Both the FFS and the DW with GTE were incubated with ~107 PFU/ml of the virus suspensions for 3 h. The chitosan films with GTE were incubated for 4 and 24 h at 23 ± 1°C. The results showed that the DW containing 1, 1.5, and 2.5% aqueous GTE, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced MNV-1 plaques by 1.7, 2.5, and 3.3 logs after 3 h exposure, respectively. Similarly, FFS containing 2.5 and 5.0% GTE reduced MNV-1 counts by 2.5 and 4.0 logs, respectively, after 3 h exposure. The dried chitosan films with 5, 10, and 15% GTE were also effective against MNV-1 infectivity. After 24 h incubation, the 5 and 10% chitosan GTE films produced significant (p < 0.05) titer reductions of 1.6 and 4.5 logs, respectively. Chitosan films containing 15% GTE reduced MNV-1 plaques to undetectable levels in 24 h. All chitosan GTE films reduced E. coli K12 and L. innocua populations to undetectable levels in tryptic soy broth after 24 h exposure. The results of this study showed that edible films enriched with GTE have potential to reduce both foodborne viruses and bacteria.
Highlights
Foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria and viruses have emerged as a major worldwide public health concern
Chitosan solutions containing 2.5 and 5.0% of the green tea extract resulted in reductions of 2.5 and 4.0 logs PFU/ml, respectively, after 3 h (Figure 3)
This study investigated the nonenveloped murine norovirus (MNV-1) because it had successfully served as a surrogate for selected foodborne viruses
Summary
Foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria and viruses have emerged as a major worldwide public health concern. In the United States, an estimated 48 million people suffer from foodborne diseases every year [1]. From this number, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die. The human norovirus alone accounts for about 21 million cases This makes the virus the leading cause of gastroenteritis in the United States. Common risk foods associated with outbreaks include minimally processed and ready-toeat commodities such as berries and oysters. These foods could become cross-contaminated by careless food handlers and/or by contaminated and unsanitary water at the preharvest or postharvest stages. Outbreaks from bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes have created a need for adequate control measures while maintaining the quality of ready-to-eat and processed foods
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