Cross-contamination Risks in Dry Produce Packinghouses: Efficacy of Alcohol-based Sanitizers to Reduce Salmonella and Potential Surrogates on Relevant Surface Materials
A 2020 Salmonella outbreak was epidemiologically linked to red onions; however, insufficient cleaning and sanitation in the packinghouse expanded the recall to include all onions handled by the packing house in the preceding 3 months. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of dry sanitizers to r...
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Food Protection |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X24002278 |
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| author | Alexandra Nerney Stuart Reitz Jovana Kovacevic Joy Waite-Cusic |
| author_facet | Alexandra Nerney Stuart Reitz Jovana Kovacevic Joy Waite-Cusic |
| author_sort | Alexandra Nerney |
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| description | A 2020 Salmonella outbreak was epidemiologically linked to red onions; however, insufficient cleaning and sanitation in the packinghouse expanded the recall to include all onions handled by the packing house in the preceding 3 months. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of dry sanitizers to reduce cross-contamination risk on food contact surfaces (FCSs) found in postharvest packing areas. Transfer of Salmonella and potential surrogates (Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecium) to and from onions to FCS materials (high-density polypropylene, polyester-nylon conveyor belts, plywood) was quantified. Transfer rates from inoculated onions to FCS were highly variable, but did not differ by surface, averaging −1.19 log %. Transfer rates from contaminated FCS to uninoculated onions averaged 0.2 log %, with 40% (31/81) of onions having no detectable transfer. Onion variety, surface type, and species did not influence the transfer rate (p > 0.05). Commercial sanitizers and alcohol solutions were tested for efficacy of reducing targeted bacteria on FCS. Reductions were quantified after 30 s and after drying (15 min). High alcohol sanitizers (∼60%) achieved a 5-log reduction on HDPE after drying. Lower alcohol (<30%) products were ineffective (<2-log reduction). E. coli and Salmonella were comparable in sensitivity to sanitizers, but E. faecium was more sensitive (p < 0.05). Transfer and sanitizer evaluation was scaled to investigate cross-contamination in postharvest storage bins (plastic and wood). With no sanitation, inoculated plastic bin contact resulted in contamination of 49–71% of onions. Use of ∼60% alcohol solutions reduced contamination to <4% of onions (p < 0.05). Low-alcohol product significantly increased cross-contamination to 86–100% of onions (p < 0.05). These findings highlight the importance of validating sanitizer efficacy to quantify microbial reduction and cross-contamination risk on produce contact surfaces. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-587ddb61ba2e46f49656bd8e3e09e433 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0362-028X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Journal of Food Protection |
| spelling | doaj-art-587ddb61ba2e46f49656bd8e3e09e4332025-02-02T05:26:42ZengElsevierJournal of Food Protection0362-028X2025-02-01882100443Cross-contamination Risks in Dry Produce Packinghouses: Efficacy of Alcohol-based Sanitizers to Reduce Salmonella and Potential Surrogates on Relevant Surface MaterialsAlexandra Nerney0Stuart Reitz1Jovana Kovacevic2Joy Waite-Cusic3Department of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USAMalheur County Experiment Station, College of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University, Ontario, OR 97914, USAFood Innovation Center, Oregon State University, 1207 NW Naito Parkway, Portland, OR 97209, USADepartment of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA; Corresponding author at: Department of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, 100 Wiegand Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.A 2020 Salmonella outbreak was epidemiologically linked to red onions; however, insufficient cleaning and sanitation in the packinghouse expanded the recall to include all onions handled by the packing house in the preceding 3 months. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of dry sanitizers to reduce cross-contamination risk on food contact surfaces (FCSs) found in postharvest packing areas. Transfer of Salmonella and potential surrogates (Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecium) to and from onions to FCS materials (high-density polypropylene, polyester-nylon conveyor belts, plywood) was quantified. Transfer rates from inoculated onions to FCS were highly variable, but did not differ by surface, averaging −1.19 log %. Transfer rates from contaminated FCS to uninoculated onions averaged 0.2 log %, with 40% (31/81) of onions having no detectable transfer. Onion variety, surface type, and species did not influence the transfer rate (p > 0.05). Commercial sanitizers and alcohol solutions were tested for efficacy of reducing targeted bacteria on FCS. Reductions were quantified after 30 s and after drying (15 min). High alcohol sanitizers (∼60%) achieved a 5-log reduction on HDPE after drying. Lower alcohol (<30%) products were ineffective (<2-log reduction). E. coli and Salmonella were comparable in sensitivity to sanitizers, but E. faecium was more sensitive (p < 0.05). Transfer and sanitizer evaluation was scaled to investigate cross-contamination in postharvest storage bins (plastic and wood). With no sanitation, inoculated plastic bin contact resulted in contamination of 49–71% of onions. Use of ∼60% alcohol solutions reduced contamination to <4% of onions (p < 0.05). Low-alcohol product significantly increased cross-contamination to 86–100% of onions (p < 0.05). These findings highlight the importance of validating sanitizer efficacy to quantify microbial reduction and cross-contamination risk on produce contact surfaces.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X24002278AlcoholCleaning and sanitationDry sanitizerOnionPostharvestProduce safety |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra Nerney Stuart Reitz Jovana Kovacevic Joy Waite-Cusic Cross-contamination Risks in Dry Produce Packinghouses: Efficacy of Alcohol-based Sanitizers to Reduce Salmonella and Potential Surrogates on Relevant Surface Materials Journal of Food Protection Alcohol Cleaning and sanitation Dry sanitizer Onion Postharvest Produce safety |
| title | Cross-contamination Risks in Dry Produce Packinghouses: Efficacy of Alcohol-based Sanitizers to Reduce Salmonella and Potential Surrogates on Relevant Surface Materials |
| title_full | Cross-contamination Risks in Dry Produce Packinghouses: Efficacy of Alcohol-based Sanitizers to Reduce Salmonella and Potential Surrogates on Relevant Surface Materials |
| title_fullStr | Cross-contamination Risks in Dry Produce Packinghouses: Efficacy of Alcohol-based Sanitizers to Reduce Salmonella and Potential Surrogates on Relevant Surface Materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross-contamination Risks in Dry Produce Packinghouses: Efficacy of Alcohol-based Sanitizers to Reduce Salmonella and Potential Surrogates on Relevant Surface Materials |
| title_short | Cross-contamination Risks in Dry Produce Packinghouses: Efficacy of Alcohol-based Sanitizers to Reduce Salmonella and Potential Surrogates on Relevant Surface Materials |
| title_sort | cross contamination risks in dry produce packinghouses efficacy of alcohol based sanitizers to reduce salmonella and potential surrogates on relevant surface materials |
| topic | Alcohol Cleaning and sanitation Dry sanitizer Onion Postharvest Produce safety |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X24002278 |
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