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Title: Effect of ozonated water and chlorine water wash on the quality and microbial de-contamination of fresh-cut carrot shreds

Author
item KIM, JI GANG - POSTH TECHN DIV,NHRI,RDA
item LIM, CHAI IL - POSTH TECHN DIV,NHRI,RDA
item Luo, Yaguang - Sunny

Submitted to: Korean Journal of Food Preservation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2007
Publication Date: 4/1/2007
Citation: Kim, J., Lim, C., Luo, Y. 2007. Effect of ozonated water and chlorine water wash on the quality and microbial de-contamination of fresh-cut carrot shreds. Korean Journal of Food Preservation. 14(1):54-60.

Interpretive Summary: Fresh produce can be contaminated with disease-causing human pathogens or product spoilage related microorganisms during growing, harvesting, processing, transportation and storage. Therefore it is important to develop a treatment that can effectively reduce microbial populations on fresh or fresh-cut produce. In this study, we investigated the effect of ozonated water and chlorine solution at different wash times, sanitizer concentrations and wash operations on the survival and growth of microorganisms and the maintenance of product quality. We found that an optimized treatment of ozonated water reduced bacteria populations more effectively than the current commercial practice of chlorinated water. This information is of importance to both the fresh-cut industry and sanitizer manufacturers to develop and apply sanitizers with improved effectiveness to reduce microbial populations and maintain quality and safety of fresh produce.

Technical Abstract: Little information exists regarding how wash operations affect water quality and the efficacy of sanitizers on quality and microbial reduction of fresh-cut carrot shreds. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of chlorine and ozone on reducing microbial loads and maintaining quality of carrot shreds. Fresh-cut carrot shreds were washed in different chlorine and ozone treatments at varying times. The samples were then centrifuged to remove excess water, packaged in selected film, and stored at 5°C. Results indicated that different ozonated water washing times affected microbial growth, off-odor development, color, and overall quality of carrot shreds. Ozonated water washing for 20 min maintained quality by inhibiting off-odor and whiteness development and reducing microbial populations, suggesting that ozonated water wash could be an alternative method to maintain quality and shelf-life of fresh-cut carrot shreds.