African Journal of Microbiology Research, 2009; 3 (10): 649-653
In the present study, slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW: pH 5.6 ± 0.21, 22 ± 1.4 mg/L available
chlorine concentration; ACC) was evaluated for decontamination of Japanese mustard green (Brassica
japonica) from Escherichia coli (E. coli) and its effectiveness was compared to that of sodium
hypochlorite solution (NaOCl solution: pH 9.8±0.01, 110 ± 2.3 mg/L ACC). Decontamination of Japanese
mustard green inoculated with E. coli was done by dipping samples into SAEW, NaOCl solution and
Tap water (control) with stirring for 2, 5, 10 and 15 min. SAEW achieved E. coli reduction of 1.29 -1.64
log10 CFU/g and was not significantly different from that achieved by NaOCl solution (P > 0.05).
Increasing the exposure time did not significantly affect its decontamination effectiveness. The results
of current study indicate that SAEW with near neutral pH and low available chlorine concentration
could be used as an alternative food sanitizer for NaOCl solution to reduce the population of pathogens
from the fruits and vegetables in food industry.