Efficacy of electrolyzed water on reducing some foodborne pathogens in cutting boards

Abstract

One of the most important source of foodborne pathogens is cross-contamination from cutting boards, knives and food preparation surfaces. Methods for reducing or inactivating pathogens from this sources are necessary for establishing food safety. Electrolyzed Water (EW, as a sanitizer, has a gaining popularity in the food industry. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of EW for reducing or eliminating Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli on unscarred, wooden cutting boards. For this purpose, 1 milliliter of each selected pathogen (109 CFU) was inoculated on a different 100 cm2 (10x10) unscarred cutting board. Following the inoculation, the boards were air-dried for the attachment of the pathogens for 1 hour and then each cutting board immersed in 500 ml of EW (% 5 concentration) at room temperature for 10 min. After that, the surviving population of the pathogens on cutting boards and in soaking water was determined by sampling at minutes 0 (zero) and 30, and hours 2, 8 and 24. Soaking of inoculated cutting boards in EW reduced all the pathogens populations by 1 log CFU/100 cm2 on cutting boards at minute 0 (zero). S. aureus and S. Typhimurium was not detected after the 8th hour, also E. coli and L. monocytogenes were not survive after 2 hours. All of the pathogens were not detected in soaked EW after the treatment. This study showed that immersion of cutting boards in EW could be an effective method for reducing foodborne pathogens on cutting boards.