AFAB

Keywords: aerobic bacteria, calcium chloride, Enterobacteriaceae, food safety, melons, organic production, post-harvest storage, storage temperature

Abstract:

Melons (Cucumis melo L.) have been associated with many foodborne illness outbreaks. Current melon handling recommendations do not require cool temperature storage to maintain the safety of whole mel- ons, yet storage temperature often in[uences microbial growth. While calcium chloride (CaCl2) dips have been shown to reduce post harvest decay and increase shelf-life of many different fruits, the anti-microbial effect is unknown. It is also unclear whether production method (organic or conventional) impacts micro- bial growth on fresh produce. This study evaluated the impact of a 20 min 0.08 M CaCl2 post-harvest dip treatment and two storage temperatures (10˚C and 21˚C) on total aerobic and Enterobacteriaceae bacterial counts present on the surface of organically and conventionally grown melons (cultivar ‘Arava’) stored for 10 d. Storage temperature signiXcantly impacted microbial growth, as higher levels of aerobic and Entero- bacteriaceae bacteria grew overall on melons stored at 21˚C vs. 10˚C (p<0.05). Storage time did not impact bacterial counts within the 10 d. Organic melons had overall more aerobic growth than conventional melons (p<0.05), with non-dipped organic melons stored at 21˚C having the highest aerobic bacterial counts. Organic melons treated with CaCl2 and stored at 21˚C had lower (p<0.05) Enterobacteriaceae levels than non-dipped organic melons stored at 21˚C. Based on the results of this study, storing whole 'Arava' melons at cooler temperatures is best to slow microbial growth, and the use of a CaCl2 dip treatment may be a useful method to minimize growth on organic melons.

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