Abstract
Commercially processed foods become contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes in post-processing environments where favorable conditions help the bacteria thrive. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Lauric arginate (LAE) as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for certain food applications. This study evaluated the efficacy of Mirenat-N (LAE dissolved in food-grade propylene glycol) against L. monocytogenes on food contact surfaces. A three-strain cocktail of L. monocytogenes was used to inoculate 24 polished stainless steel coupons with three treatments, 100 ppm and 200 ppm solutions of LAE and water (control); two sub-treatments of high (6 log CFU/ml) and low (4 log CFU/ml) inoculum levels; and two contact times of 5 and 15 min. Attached bacteria were dislodged by vortexing coupons for 1 min with 20 g of 3-mm solid glass beads in 10 ml of 0.1% peptone diluent, and bacterial populations were calculated by plating onto modified oxford medium (MOX) and thin agar layer MOX (TALMOX). The 100 ppm treatment showed average reductions of 1.38 and 2.57 log CFU/coupon at the low inoculum level and 0.37 and 0.62 log CFU/coupon at high inoculum levels, after 5 and 15 min exposure, respectively. For 200 ppm at the high inoculum level, 1.23 and 1.88 log CFU/coupon reductions were seen for 5 and 15 min, respectively; the low inoculum level at 5 and 15 min exposure showed reductions of ≤1.5 log CFU/coupon. The 100 ppm LAE treatment was more effective at low inoculum levels for 5 and 15 min contact times and may be used to control low levels of contamination of L. monocytogenes on food contact surfaces.
Highlights
Bacteria have been shown to enter foods as a result of contact with contaminated surfaces [1]
This study evaluated the efficacy of Mirenat-N (LAE dissolved in food-grade propylene glycol) against L. monocytogenes on food contact surfaces
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Mirenat-N, Lauric arginate (LAE) dissolved in food-grade propylene glycol, against L. monocytogenes on stainless steel food product contact surfaces
Summary
Bacteria have been shown to enter foods as a result of contact with contaminated surfaces [1]. Pathogenic bacteria can survive cleaning and disinfection of equipment surfaces in food processing environments, increasing the risks associated with transmission of disease [2,3]. Clear evidence suggests that contamination of commercially processed food products occurs with L. monocytogenes not because the organism is able to survive the processing operation, but because of contact with postprocessing environments that include food and non-food contact surfaces. Moisture plays an important role in survival and attachment of bacterial cells to different surfaces. Sanitizers and cleaners are continuously evaluated for their use in food processing environments, and L. monocytogenes has shown sensitivity to several sanitizing agents. Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 section 178.1010, Sanitizing solutions, defines the use of these sanitizers on finished product contact surfaces at 200 ppm levels without requiring subsequent water rinse, except iodine-based sanitizers, where the maximum level is 25 ppm [7]
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