Abstract:
Antimicrobial effect of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW: pH 5.6 ± 0.1, 20.5 ± 1.3 mg/L available
chlorine concentration; ACC) against indigenous aerobic mesophiles and inoculated Escherichia coli
and Salmonella spp. on fresh strawberry was assessed. The antimicrobial effect of SAEW was
compared with that of strong acidic electrolyzed water (StAEW) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl)
solution. SAEW effectively reduced total aerobic mesophilic bacteria from strawberries by 1.68
log10CFU/g and was not significantly different from that of NaOCl solution (p > 0.05). Antimicrobial effect
of SAEW against Salmonella spp. and E. coli was indicated by a more than 2 log10CFU/g reduction of
their population and the effect was not significantly different from that of NaOCl solution and StAEW at
similar treatment conditions (p > 0.05). From these findings, SAEW with a near-neutral pH and low
available chlorine concentration exhibits an equivalent bactericidal effectiveness to NaOCl solution and
thus SAEW is a potential sanitizer that would be used as an alternative for StAEW and NaOCl solution
in the fresh fruit and vegetables industry.
