Inactivation of Salmonella enterica Ser. Enteritidis in tomato juice by combining of high-intensity pulsed electric fields with natural antimicrobials.

The effect of high-intensity pulsed electric field (HIPEF) treatment (35kV/cm, 4 mus pulse length in bipolar mode without exceeding 38 degrees C) as influenced by treatment time (200, 600, and 1000 micros) and pulse frequency (100, 150, and 200 Hz) for inactivating Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis inoculated in tomato juice was evaluated. Similarly, the effect of combining HIPEF treatment with citric acid (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%[wt/vol]) or cinnamon bark oil (0.05%, 0.10%, 0.2%, and 0.3%[vol/vol]) as natural antimicrobials against S. Enteritidis in tomato juice was also studied. Higher treatment time and lower pulse frequency produced the greater microbial inactivation. Maximum inactivation of S. Enteritidis (4.184 log(10) units) in tomato juice by HIPEF was achieved when 1000 micros and 100 Hz of treatment time and pulse frequency, respectively, were applied. However, a greater microbial inactivation was found when S. Enteritidis was previously exposed to citric acid or cinnamon bark oil for 1 h in tomato juice. Synergistic effects were observed in HIPEF and natural antimicrobials. Nevertheless, combinations of HIPEF treatment with 2.0% of citric acid or 0.1% of cinnamon bark oil were needed for inactivating S. Enteritidis by more than 5.0 log(10) units (5.08 and 6.04 log(10) reductions, respectively). Therefore, combinations of HIPEF with organic acids or essential oils seem to be a promising method to achieve the pasteurization in these kinds of products.

High-intensity pulsed electric field variables affecting Staphylococcus aureus inoculated in milk.

Staphylococcus aureus is an important milk-related pathogen that is inactivated by high-intensity pulsed electric fields (HIPEF). In this study, inactivation of Staph. aureus suspended in milk by HIPEF was studied using a response surface methodology, in which electric field intensity, pulse number, pulse width, pulse polarity, and the fat content of milk were the controlled variables. It was found that the fat content of milk did not significantly affect the microbial inactivation of Staph. aureus. A maximum value of 4.5 log reductions was obtained by applying 150 bipolar pulses of 8 mus each at 35 kV/cm. Bipolar pulses were more effective than those applied in the monopolar mode. An increase in electric field intensity, pulse number, or pulse width resulted in a drop in the survival fraction of Staph. aureus. Pulse widths close to 6.7 micros lead to greater microbial death with a minimum number of applied pulses. At a constant treatment time, a greater number of shorter pulses achieved better inactivation than those treatments performed at a lower number of longer pulses. The combined action of pulse number and electric field intensity followed a similar pattern, indicating that the same fraction of microbial death can be reached with different combinations of the variables. The behavior and relationship among the electrical variables suggest that the energy input of HIPEF processing might be optimized without decreasing the microbial death.