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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #381740
Research Project: Development of Detection and Intervention Technologies for Bacterial and Viral Pathogens Affecting Shellfish

Location: Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research

Title: Evaluation of SDS and GRAS liquid disinfectants for mitigation of potential HAV contamination of berries

Author
item Kingsley, David
item Annous, Bassam

Submitted to: Journal of Applied Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/22/2021
Publication Date: 4/27/2021
Citation: Kingsley, D.H., Annous, B.A. 2021. Evaluation of SDS and GRAS liquid disinfectants for mitigation of potential HAV contamination of berries. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 15123. https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.15123.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.15123

Interpretive Summary: Foodborne viruses are a serious problem to the berry industry since infectious viruses are common and very difficult to remove and/or inactivate. Often berries are picked by hand which is the principal source of virus contamination. We evaluated the ability to wash and disinfect berries. Overall, we reduced contamination by almost 99.9% using a mixture of 3 ppm chlorine dioxide and 0.5% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulfate in wash water. This work should serve as a guideline for the berry industry in developing mitigation strategies for potential virus contamination.

Technical Abstract: Liquid wash formulations were evaluated against hepatitis A virus-contaminated strawberries and blackberries in order to identify a method suitable for reducing virus contamination. Formulations included the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS; 0.5% w/v) by itself, and in combination, with lactic acid (LA; 0.5% v/v), levulinic acid (LVA; 0.5% v/v) and 3 ppm aqueous chlorine dioxide (ClO2). After contamination and drying overnight, the average total extractable contamination of strawberries and blackberries was 4.40 and 4.37 log PFU, respectively. Three successive washes with distilled water (dH2O) reduced total contamination by 1.75 and 1.70 log PFU for strawberries and blackberries, respectively. Comparing chemical treatment with water washes only gave additional reductions ranging from + 0.38 to 1.24 logs. Considering results for both berry types, the combination of ClO2 and SDS was the most effective. Overall results indicate that adding surfactant and disinfectant to berry wash can enhance HAV reduction on berries.