Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the combined effect of fumaric acid with mild heat on the inactivation of microorganisms on spinach. Spinach leaves were inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes. Based on the results of single treatment of fumaric acid (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5%) or mild heat (40, 50, and 60 o C) regarding the inactivation of the inoculated bacteria, the optimal condition for the combined treatment was suggested to be 0.5% fumaric acid and mild heat treatment at 50 o C for 5 min. The combined treatment of fumaric acid with mild heat caused 2.53 and 2.62 log reductions of the populations of L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7, respectively. In addition, during storage of fresh spinach at 4 o C for 12 d, the combined treatment reduced initially the populations of total aerobic bacteria by 2.77 log CFU/g compared with the control. In particular, after 12 d of storage, the population of total aerobic bacteria for the combined treatment sample was 4.84 log CFU/g, whereas the control sample had 6.66 log CFU/g. Color and vitamin C content of spinach samples were not altered significantly by the combined treatment during storage. These results indicate that the combined treatment of fumaric acid with mild heat is an effective method to control microorganisms on spinach during storage.
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