Decontamination of fresh‐cut Chinese yams with ethanol, ascorbic acid and combinations following produce inoculations with Escherichia coli and Salmonella pathogens

Determining the most effective method for preventing pathogen survival during washing operations is important for the safety of fresh‐cut produce. This study evaluated the efficacy of lower concentrations (15–35%, v/v) of ethanol, alone or in combination with ascorbic acid (AA) (1%, m/v), as well as different washing methods (wash time and number of washes), for inactivating the human pathogens Escherichia coli and Salmonella on inoculated fresh‐cut Chinese yam (Rhizoma dioscoreae, Dioscorea opposita) slices. The results showed that a wash solution consisting of 25% ethanol and 1% AA significantly reduced the populations of E. coli and Salmonella pathogens more than 1 log cfu/g, which is better than ethanol alone (p .05). Wash time and number of washes also influenced the effectiveness of pathogen inactivation. However, increasing wash time above 5 min or increasing the number of washes above two had little effect on the reduction of pathogen populations. Practical applications The purpose of this study is to investigate the ability of a novel wash method for inactivating the pathogens on inoculated fresh‐cut Chinese yams. The results from this study may be beneficial for the fresh‐cut food industry as pathogen contamination are major concerns and currently there are no satisfactory solutions that can eliminated pathogens while maintaining quality.