The bactericidal activity of acidic electrolyzed oxidizing water against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes on raw fish, chicken and beef surfaces

Abstract

The bactericidal efficacy of acidic electrolyzed oxidizing water (AC-EW) (pH=2.30, free chlorine=38ppm) and sterile distilled water (DW) on three pathogens (Escherichia coli O157:H7 Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes) inoculated on raw trout skin, chicken legs and beef meat surfaces was evaluated. The decontaminating effect of AC-EW and DW was tested for 0 (control), 1, 3, 5 and 10min at 22°C. AC-EW significantly (P<0.05) reduced the three pathogens in the inoculated samples compared to the control and DW. The level of reduction ranged between ca.1.5-1.6 logs for E.coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium in the inoculated foods. However, AC-EW exhibited less bactericidal effect against L.monocytogenes (1.1-1.3 logs reduction). AC-EW elicited about 1.6-2.0 log reduction in the total mesophilic count. Similar treatment with DW reduced pathogens load by ca. 0.2-1.0 log reduction and total mesophiles by ca. 0.5-0.7 logs. No complete elimination of the three pathogens was obtained using AC-EW possibly because of the level of organic matter and blood moving from food samples to the AC-EW solution. This study demonstrates that AC-EW could considerably reduce common foodborne pathogens in fish, chicken and beef products.