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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308183
Title: Growth of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes on fresh-cut cantaloupe under different temperature abuse scenarios

Author
item HUANG, JINGWEI - Shenyang Agricultural University
item Luo, Yaguang - Sunny
item Nou, Xiangwu

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2015
Publication Date: 6/1/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61187
Citation: Huang, J., Luo, Y., Nou, X. 2015. Growth of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes on fresh-cut cantaloupe under different temperature abuse scenarios. Journal of Food Protection. 78:1125-135.

Interpretive Summary: Cold chain maintenance is crucial for the safety of fresh produce such as fresh-cut vegetables and fruits. In this study, the potential for growth of two common foodborne pathogens, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, on fresh-cut cantaloupe under sub-optimal storage conditions (temperature abuse) was examined. There was no growth of Salmonella at 4oC; while at 8o and 12oC cell numbers increased approximately 25- and 170-fold, respectively. L. monocytogenes grew slightly (6-fold) at 4oC; while at 8o and 12oC cell numbers increased approximately 725- and 15,000-fold, respectively. When storage temperatures were allowed to fluctuate daily twice to room temperature for 30 min, Salmonella and L. monocytogenes cell numbers increased approximately 120 and 240-fold. These results illustrate the importance of keeping fresh-cut produce refrigerated during all phases of distribution prior to consumption. This information should be useful for other scientists, regulatory agencies, the produce industry, produce retailers and consumers.

Technical Abstract: Effective cold chain management is a critical component of food safety practice. In this study, we examined the impact of commonly encountered temperature abuse scenarios on the proliferation of Salmonela enterica and Listeria monocytogenes on fresh-cut cantaloupe. During one week of storage, Salmonella cell counts on fresh-cut cantaloupe increased by -0.26, 1.39, and 2.23 log10 units at 4 ° C (Control), 8 °C, and 12 oC (Chronic temperature abuse), respectively, while that of L. monocytogenes increased by 0.75, 2.86, and 4.17 log10 units. Under intermittent temperature abuse conditions, where storage temperature fluctuated daily twice to room temperature for 30 min, Salmonella cell count increased by 2.08 log10 units, while that of L. monocytogenes by 2.38 log10 units. In contrast, terminal acute temperature abuses for 2-4 hrs resulted in upward to 0.6 log10 units increase for Salmonella, while the effect on L. monocytogenes was less significant when compared to L. moncytogenes on cut cantaloupe stored at 4 oC. Significant deterioration of produce visual quality and tissue integrity, as reflected by electrolyte leakage, were also observed under various temperature abuse conditions.