Abstract
Pseudomonas is considered as the specific spoilage bacteria in meat and meat products. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inactivation efficiency and mechanisms of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) against Pseudomonas deceptionensis CM2, a strain isolated from spoiling chicken breast. SAEW caused time-dependent inactivation of P. deceptionensis CM2 cells. After exposure to SAEW (pH 5.9, oxidation–reduction potential of 945 mV, and 64 mg/L of available chlorine concentration) for 60 s, the bacterial populations were reduced by 5.14 log reduction from the initial load of 10.2 log10 CFU/mL. Morphological changes in P. deceptionensis CM2 cells were clearly observed through field emission-scanning electron microscopy as a consequence of SAEW treatment. SAEW treatment also resulted in significant increases in the extracellular proteins and nucleic acids, and the fluorescence intensities of propidium iodide and n-phenyl-1-napthylamine in P. deceptionensis CM2 cells, suggesting the disruption of cytoplasmic and outer membrane integrity. These findings show that SAEW is a promising antimicrobial agent.
Highlights
Food spoilage is a major concern of the food industry, which is mainly caused by various microorganisms such as bacteria, molds, and yeasts [1]
Zeng et al [17] reported that Staphylococcus. aureus cells were inactivated by 3.73 log10 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL following 1 min treatment of Electrolyzed water (EW)
More attention should be paid to the difference in sensitivity of microorganisms to EW when EW is used in food preservation
Summary
Food spoilage is a major concern of the food industry, which is mainly caused by various microorganisms such as bacteria, molds, and yeasts [1]. Bacteria are regarded as major sources of food spoilage [3], mainly including Shewanella, Clostridium, lactic acid bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta, Pseudomonas, Proteus, and Streptococcus [4]. Appropriate preservation methods should be developed to improve the safety and quality of foods, such as thermal processing and chemical preservatives [7]. Traditional thermal processing technologies usually cause detrimental effects on the nutrient elements (such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals) and the sensory properties of foods. In the past few years, nonthermal food processing technologies, such as highpressure carbon dioxide, high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, and cold plasma, have been well developed for potential application in the food industries [11]
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