International Specialty Supply
Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World
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International Specialty Supply Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World
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Behavior
of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 on Alfalfa Sprouts during
the Sprouting Process as Influenced by Treatments with Various Chemicals Journal
of Food Protection: Vol. 62, No. 8, pp. 850–856. PETER
J. TAORMINA and LARRY R. BEUCHAT-Center for Food Safety and Quality
Enhancement, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia,
1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, Georgia 30223-1797, USA Abstract—The
behavior of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on alfalfa seeds subjected to
conditions similar to those used commercially to grow and market sprouts as it
is affected by applications of NaOCl, Ca(OCl)2, acidified NaClO2,
acidified ClO2, Na3PO4, Vegi-Clean, Tsunami,
Vortexx, or H2O2 at various stages of the sprouting
process was determined. Application of 2,000 ppm of NaOCl, 200 and 2,000 ppm of
Ca(OCl)2, 500 ppm of acidified ClO2, 10,000 ppm of Vegi-Clean,
80 ppm of Tsunami, or 40 and 80 ppm of Vortexx to germinated seeds significantly
reduced the population of E. coli O157:H7. With the exception of
acidified NaOCl2 at 1,200 ppm, spray applications of these chemicals
did not significantly reduce populations or control the growth of E. coli
O157:H7 on alfalfa sprouts during the sprouting process. Populations of E.
coli on alfalfa sprouts peaked at 6 to 7 log10 CFU/g 48 h after
initiation of the sprouting process and remained stable despite further spraying
with chemicals. The population of E. coli O157:H7 on sprouts as they
entered cold storage at 9 ± 2°C remained essentially unchanged for up to 6
days. None of the chemical treatments evaluated was able to eliminate or
satisfactorily reduce E. coli O157:H7 on alfalfa seeds and sprouts.
Observations on the ability of E. coli O157:H7 to grow during production
of alfalfa sprouts not subjected to chemical treatments are similar to those
from a previous study in our laboratory on the behavior of Salmonella
Stanley. Our results do not reveal a chemical treatment method to eliminate the
pathogen from alfalfa sprouts. We have demonstrated that currently recommended
procedures for sanitizing alfalfa seeds fail to eliminate E. coli O157:H7
and that the pathogen can grow to populations exceeding 7 log10 CFU/g
of sprouts produced using techniques not dissimilar to those used in the sprout
industry. |