The application of slightly acidic electrolyzed water in pea sprout production to ensure food safety, biological and nutritional quality of the sprout

Abstract

Slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) with available chlorine concentrations (ACC) of 35 and 70 mg/L is used instead of regular production water for soaking pea (Pisum sativum L.) seeds and spraying the sprouts during seed sprouting. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) with the same ACC and tap water are used as a control in this study. The population of total bacteria, coliform, yeast and mold are determined at day 2, day 5, day 8, and day 11, respectively during seed sprouting. The biological indicators, nutritive indicators, and nitrite content after the sprouts are harvested are measured as well. The results indicate that when treated with SAEW, the counts of total bacteria, coliform, yeast and mold are reduced by 0.99–1.58 log CFU/g, 0.57–1.02 log CFU/g, and 1.01–1.22 log CFU/g respectively, compared to tap water treatment. Fresh weight, length, and edible rate of the sprouts significantly improve when treated with SAEW (p < 0.05). No evident adverse effects are observed in the nutritive indicators after SAEW treatment. In fact, a slight improvement (soluble sugar, flavonoid) was evident. Moreover, after a storage period of 7 d, the nitrite content of the sprouts was significantly lower in the SAEW treated samples than in any of other treatments. Therefore, SAEW could be a promising application in the production of pea sprouts to ultimately improve food safety.