Work

Comparison of commercially available food decontaminants with established methods of decontamination for household practices which are used to keep foods safe

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: The microbiological safety of food has been a major concern in Bangladesh following several reports of food borne outbreaks associated with contaminated food and vegetables. To minimize the outbreak, several studies suggested that decontamination is necessary before cooking. Washing with water is the most common technique for decontamination in Bangladesh. In order to ensure food safety, the use of different food washing agents is also becoming popular day by day. For this reason, this study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of various sanitizers and treatment method for decontamination. In this study, several decontamination methods including washing with hot water, cold water, salt water, vinegar and commercially available food sanitizer to evaluate for their efficacy against different microorganisms. Here, salad vegetables were washed with various sanitizers and then microbiological analysis was done to reveal the bacterial and fungal load. This study revealed that most of the sanitizing methods were able to reduce microbial load minimum by 2 log CFU/g. Vinegar and hot water wash were the most effective method of decontamination compare to others with the former showing a 3 log CFU/g reduction. This can be concluded that common items like the use of vinegar and hot water were more effective than the commercial decontaminating agents available.

Source: Food Research

DOI: 10.26656/fr.2017.4(5).175

Authors: F. Feroz, K.K. Das, T. Islam

Institution: Stamford University Bangladesh

Language: English

Topic: Food Safety and Hygiene

Subfield: Food Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Zero hunger, Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $100