High Pressures in Combination with Antimicrobials To Reduce Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Agona in Apple Juice and Orange Juice

Abstract

The effect of high pressure processing in conjunction with the chemical antimicrobials, dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC), hydrogen peroxide, cinnamic acid, potassium sorbate, and sodium benzoate (NaB) on E. coli O157:H7 strain E009 and Salmonella enterica serovar Agona was investigated in apple juice and orange juice, respectively. Juices were inoculated with approximately 106 CFU/ml and subjected to pressures of 550 MPa (E. coli O157:H7 samples) and 400 MPa (Salmonella Agona samples) for 2 min at 6°C (initial temperature). Populations of each pathogen were determined before pressurization, immediately after pressurization, and after samples had been held after treatment for 24 h at 4°C. The most effective treatment for E. coli O157:H7, as determined by plating immediately after pressurization, was 125 ppm of DMDC, which caused a >4.98-log reduction. Other treatments that were significantly different from the sample with no added antimicrobial were 62.5 ppm of DMDC, 300 ppm of hydrogen peroxide, and 500 ppm of NaB, which produced 4.97-, 5.79-, and 3.91-log total reductions, respectively. After 24 h at 4°C, E. coli O157:H7 was undetectable in all treatment groups (and controls). In samples inoculated with Salmonella, the most effective treatment was 62.5 ppm of DMDC, which produced a 5.96-log decrease immediately after pressure treatment. The results for 1,000 ppm of NaB, which produced a 3.26-log decrease, also were significantly different from those for the sample containing no antimicrobials. After 24 h at 4°C, all samples with added antimicrobials had near or more than a 5-log total reduction of Salmonella Agona.