Gamma Radiation On Sprouts

G-Radiation Decontamination of Alfalfa Seeds Naturally Contaminated with Salmonella Mbandaka
June/July 2003
Journal of Food Science, Vol.68, No. 5, pp. 1771-1776
D.W. Thayer, G. Boyd, and W.F. Fett

ABSTRACT:
Samples of alfalfa seeds inoculated with Salmonella Mbandaka isolated from a naturally contaminated lot were g-irradiated to 1 of 8 doses between 0 and 2.8 kGy, producing a maximum inactivation of 3.3 logs CFU/g. Analysis of the data indicates that the g-radiation D value is 0.81 6 0.02 kGy. An absorbed dose of 4 kGy, but not 3 kGy, eliminated viable S. Mbandaka from naturally contaminated seeds. Results of experiments with different percentages of inoculated seeds indicate that the dose required to inactivate a contaminating pathogen on alfalfa seeds is dependent upon the maximum contamination per seed, not the mean contamination of the lot.