Impact of Material Type and Relative Humidity on the Survival of Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica on Harvest Bags

IF 2.1 4区农林科学 Q3 BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY

Journal of food protection Pub Date : 2025-02-25 DOI:10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100471

Cyril A. Etaka , Daniel L. Weller , Tuan Le , Alexis Hamilton , Faith J. Critzer , Laura K. Strawn

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Harvest bags, if not properly cleaned and sanitized, can serve as sources of microbial contamination, making it vital to understand pathogen survival on these surfaces to inform sanitation best practices. The study objective was to assess the survival of generic Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica on harvest bag materials: 100% canvas, nylon, and Cordura. Coupons from each material were inoculated with rifampicin-resistant strains of E. coli or rifampicin-resistant 5-strain cocktails of L. monocytogenes or S. enterica at ca. 7.3 ± 0.1 log CFU/coupon. Coupons were air-dried until the inoculum was visibly dry and held at 22°C under different relative humidity (RH) conditions: 30 or 80% RH for E. coli (90 d) and 55% RH for L. monocytogenes and S. enterica (21 d). E. coli concentration was enumerated at 12 time-points: 0, 1.5, 4, and 8 h, and 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60, and 90 d post-inoculation. L. monocytogenes and S. enterica levels were enumerated at 10 time-points: 0, 1, 4, and 8 h, and 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, and 21 d. Coupons were massaged for 60 s with 20 mL of 0.1% peptone and plated in duplicate on selective and non-selective media in triplicate experiments with triplicate replicates (n = 9). Models were fitted to describe bacterial die-off in log CFU/coupon over time. E. coli exhibited a triphasic die-off with a faster rate of die-off on nylon surfaces. S. enterica demonstrated greater die-off on Cordura compared to canvas, and L. monocytogenes followed a biphasic die-off, with no significant difference in survival across the materials. Findings indicate E. coli survival was influenced by RH, time, and material, with the fastest die-off on nylon materials. S. enterica die-off was influenced by material and time with a faster die-off on Cordura. L. monocytogenes exhibited similar die-off on canvas and Cordura. Sanitization of harvest bags is recommended to reduce contamination risks as pathogen survival can be influenced by bag material and environmental conditions.

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来源期刊

Journal of food protection 工程技术-生物工程与应用微生物

CiteScore

4.20

自引率

5.00%

发文量

296

审稿时长

2.5 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Food Protection® (JFP) is an international, monthly scientific journal in the English language published by the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP). JFP publishes research and review articles on all aspects of food protection and safety. Major emphases of JFP are placed on studies dealing with: Tracking, detecting (including traditional, molecular, and real-time), inactivating, and controlling food-related hazards, including microorganisms (including antibiotic resistance), microbial (mycotoxins, seafood toxins) and non-microbial toxins (heavy metals, pesticides, veterinary drug residues, migrants from food packaging, and processing contaminants), allergens and pests (insects, rodents) in human food, pet food and animal feed throughout the food chain; Microbiological food quality and traditional/novel methods to assay microbiological food quality; Prevention of food-related hazards and food spoilage through food preservatives and thermal/non-thermal processes, including process validation; Food fermentations and food-related probiotics; Safe food handling practices during pre-harvest, harvest, post-harvest, distribution and consumption, including food safety education for retailers, foodservice, and consumers; Risk assessments for food-related hazards; Economic impact of food-related hazards, foodborne illness, food loss, food spoilage, and adulterated foods; Food fraud, food authentication, food defense, and foodborne disease outbreak investigations.