Effectiveness of lemon juice, vinegar and their mixture in the elimination of Salmonella typhimurium on carrots ( Daucus carota L.)

Abstract

Lemon juice, vinegar and the mixture of lemon juice and vinegar (1:1) were tested for their effectiveness in reducing the counts of inoculated Salmonella typhimurium (approximately 6 and 3 log cfu/g) on carrots. Treatment of carrot samples with lemon juice vinegar alone for different exposure times (0, 15, 30 and 60 min) caused significant reductions ranging between 0.79–3.95 and 1.57–3.58 log cfu/g, respectively, while the number of pathogens was reduced to an undetectable level after 30-min treatment by combined used lemon juice vinegar.