Surface Decontamination of Fresh, Whole Peaches (Prunus persica) Using Sodium Hypochlorite or Acidified Electrolyzed Water Solutions

Figures & data

Table 1. Chemical characteristics of treatment solutions and their effects on numbers (log₁₀ cfu per g peach) of total aerobic microorganisms (APC) and inoculated Listeria innocua recovered from surfaces of whole peaches after a 5 second exposure time

Treatment	pH of solution	Chlorine (ppm)	Oxidation Reduction Potential (mV)	APC log10 CFU/g peach	Listeria innocua log10 CFU/g peach
No Wash (NW)	N/A	N/A	N/A	4.3 ± 0.2	4.9^a ± 0.1
Tap Water Wash (TW)	7.00 ± 0.02	0.01 ± 0.1	526.3 ± 34.9	3.5 ± 0.2	4.3^ab ± 0.1
Acidified Electrolyzed Water (AEW)	2.86 ± 0.02	21.8 ± 0.3	1123.3 ± 8.0	3.4 ± 0.2	3.7^bc ± 0.2
Chlorine (CL)	8.21 ± 0.02	21.0 ± 0.1	773.3 ± 8.2	3.7 ± 0.3	3.5 ^c ± 0.1

N/A designation refers to ‘Not applicable.’

^a-cMeans ± standard error of means within a column with a common superscript are not significantly different (P > 0.05).

Table 2. Chemical characteristics of treatment solutions and their effects on numbers (log₁₀ cfu per g peach) of total aerobic microorganisms recovered from surfaces of whole peaches after 40 minutes of exposure.¹

Treatment	pH of solution	Chlorine (ppm)	Oxidation Reduction Potential (mV)	Log10 CFU/g peach	Reduction Log cfu/g peach
No Wash (NW)	N/A	N/A	N/A	4.3^a ± 0.2	-
Tap Water Wash (TW)	6.96 ± 0.05	0.01 ± 0.1	526.3 ± 34.9	3.2^b ± 0.2	1.1
Acidified Electrolyzed Water (AEW)	2.89 ± 0.02	21.9 ± 0.2	1126.3 ± 8.0	2.6 ^c ± 0.3	1.7
Chlorine (CL)	8.39 ± 0.02	21.5 ± 0.3	744.3 ± 12.4	2.3 ^c ± 0.4	2.0

N/A designation refers to ‘Not applicable.’

^a-cMeans ± standard error of means with a common superscript are not significantly different (P > 0.05)

¹Treatment exposure time of 40 minutes simulates dwell time in a commercial hydrocooler.

Table 3. Chemical characteristics of treatment solutions and their effects on numbers (log₁₀ cfu per g peach) of Listeria innocua recovered from surfaces of whole peaches after 40 minutes of exposure.¹

Treatment	pH of solution	Chlorine (ppm)	Oxidation Reduction Potential (mV)	Log10 CFU/g peach	Reduction Log cfu/g peach
No Wash (NW)	N/A	N/A	N/A	4.9^a ± 0.1	-
Tap Water Wash (TW)	6.39 ± 0.11	0.01 ± 0.0	591.3 ± 30.8	4.7^a ± 0.1	0.2
Acidified Electrolyzed Water (AEW)	2.83 ± 0.02	21.8 ± 0.3	1159.7 ± 3.6	1.4^b ± 0.4	3.5
Chlorine (CL)	8.18 ± 0.03	20.9 ± 0.1	770.3 ± 8.2	1.9^b ± 0.3	3.0

N/A designation refers to ‘Not applicable.’

^a-cMeans ± standard error of means with a common superscript are not significantly different (P > 0.05)

¹Treatment exposure time of 40 minutes simulates dwell time in a commercial hydrocooler.