An Agricultural Research Service scientist in Pennsylvania has developed a sanitizing wash formulated with natural compounds that could reduce the number of foodborne illnesses caused each year by Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Listeria on fresh-cut produce.
Food processors sometimes use chlorinated water or hydrogen peroxide-based washes to sanitize produce, but they are not always effective. Washing produce at home in water before slicing it also helps, but bacteria can persist in cut-up pieces. Each year about 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick; 128,000 are hospitalized; and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We know there is a strong demand among food processors, restaurants, outlets that market fresh produce, and the general public for a safe, simple-to-use product that reduces the risk of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables being contaminated with harmful bacteria,” says Dike Ukuku, a food technologist at the ARS Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Unit in Wyndmoor.
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