This study was investigated the effects of various commercial sanitizers on microbial characteristics in fresh-cut iceberg lettuce during storage. For screening sanitizer, lettuce was cut and dipped in chlorine water (0.2 ml·L-1), solution of organic acids such as ascorbic acid, citric acid, acetic acid, mixture of ascorbic acid and acetic acid (1-6%), and solutions of commercial sanitizers such as Formula 4TM (1,3,4%), Fresh produce washTM (1,3,4%), CleancolTM (1%), ChitocholTM (1%) and Natural CaTM (0.1%) for 3 min, respectively. Washing lettuce with selected sanitizers resulted in reduction of aerobic bacteria of more than 2 log CFU/g. Initial pH of lettuce was related with the pH of sanitizers. pH ranged from 4.7 to 6.1 in Formula 4 (4%, pH 1.7) and Natural Ca (0.1%, pH 12.0), respectively. Chlorine water showed consistent and significant inhibition effect in all of microorganisms except total coliform. Over 3% of Formula 4 and Fresh produce wash were found to have high bactericidal activity among sanitizers. The sanitizers of chlorine water, Fresh produce wash, Chitochol and Natural Ca were effective in reducing yeast and mould populations. As coliform and E. coli, Formula 4 (4%) showed the highest bactericidal activity. The bactericidal effect of commercial sanitizers during storage varied with the kinds and concentrations of tested sanitizers. Although inhibition effect was not showed during storage, these results suggest that commercial sanitizers could be an alternative to chlorine for washing fresh-cut produce.

• 황태영(중원대학교 식품공학과) | Tae-Young Hwang (Department of Food Science and Technology, Jungwon University, Goesan 32713, Korea) Corresponding author