Reduction of Bacterial Enteric Pathogens and Hygiene Indicator Bacteria on Tomato Skin Surfaces by a Polymeric Nanoparticle-Loaded Plant-Derived Antimicrobial

Abstract

This study determined <i>Escherichia coli</i> O157:H7 and <i>Salmonella enterica</i> serovar Typhimurium survival on tomato skins as a function of sanitization treatment, under three differing contamination and sanitization scenarios. Sanitizing treatments consisted of the plant-derived antimicrobial (PDA) geraniol (0.5 wt.%) emulsified in the polymeric surfactant Pluronic F-127 (GNP), 0.5 wt.% unencapsulated geraniol (UG), 200 mg/L hypochlorous acid at pH 7.0 (HOCl), and a sterile distilled water wash (CON). Experimental contamination and sanitization scenarios tested were: (1) pathogen inoculation preceded by treatment; (2) the pathogen was inoculated onto samples twice with a sanitizing treatment applied in between inoculations; and (3) pathogen inoculation followed by sanitizing treatment. Reductions in counts of surviving pathogens were dependent on the sanitizing treatment, the storage period, or the interaction of these independent/main effects. GNP treatment yielded the greatest reductions in pathogen counts on tomato skins; pathogen survivor counts following GNP treatment were consistently statistically lower than those achieved by HOCl or UG treatments (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). GNP treatment provided greatest pathogen reduction under differing conditions of pre- and/or post-harvest cross-contamination, and reduced hygiene-indicating microbes the most of all treatments on non-inoculated samples. Encapsulated geraniol can reduce the risk of pathogen transmission on tomato fruit, reducing food safety hazard risks for tomato consumers.