Effectiveness of Cetylpyridinium Chloride and Vegetable Washes On the Viability of Indigenous Bacterial Flora of Fresh Produce

Effectiveness of Cetylpyridinium Chloride and Commercial Vegetable WashPreparations on the Viability of Indigenous Bacterial Flora of Selected FreshProduce

2002FDA Science Forum

FDA:Building a Multidisciplinary Foundation

February20-21, 2002

WashingtonConvention Center, Washington, DC

PosterAbstracts, Board L-10

T.T. Tran, R. N. Matthews, C. R. Warner, and S. J. Chirtel. U.S. Food and DrugAdministration, Washington, DC.

Testportions (25 g) of fresh-cut broccoli, celery, lettuce, mung bean sprouts, andscallions were treated with aqueous solutions of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC,0.1%) or 3 commercial vegetable wash preparations (VWP), namely F, SH and VW,with sonication. Indigenous microflora on the produce were enumerated by spiralplating on Standard Methods agar. Surviving organisms on CPC-, F-, SH-, and VW-treatedproduce at 25oC for 5 min showed a log10 differential of0.4, 0.5, 0.4, and 0.6 compared to the control (untreated produce),respectively. A log10 differential of 2.1, 1.7, 1.6, and 1.6 wasrealized with treatments at 50°C for 3 min, respectively. There weresignificant differences between treatments and time-temperature combinations (P< 0.05); but no interactions between time-temperature combinations andtreatments, and no significant differences among the efficiencies of thedisinfectants within each time-temperature combination. CPC is used as anantiseptic and disinfectant in commercial mouthwash preparations. VWP areclaimed to remove pesticides, chemicals, waxes, as well as bacteria from thesurfaces of fruits and vegetables. Results of this study suggest that aqueoussolutions of CPC and VWP can be used in combination at 50°C as surfactants anddisinfectants to effectively remove and reduce the viability of microbialcontaminants from fresh produce.