This study was conducted to develop a model for describing the effect of storage temperature (4, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35℃) on the growth of Escherichia coli O157 : H7 in ready-to-eat (RTE) lettuce treated with or without (control) alkaline electrolyzed water (AIEW). The growth curves were well fitted with the Gompertz equation, which was used to determine the specific growth rate (SGR) and lag time (LT) of E. coli O157 : H7 (R2 = 0.994). Results showed that the obtained SGR and LT were dependent on the storage temperature. The growth rate increased with increasing temperature from 4 to 35℃. The square root models were used to evaluate the effect of storage temperature on the growth of E. coli O157 : H7 in lettuce samples treated without or with AIEW. The coefficient of determination (R2), adjusted determination coefficient (R2 Adj), and mean square error (MSE) were employed to validate the established models. It showed that R2 and R2 Adj were close to 1 (> 0.93), and MSE calculated from models of untreated and treated lettuce were 0.031 and 0.025, respectively. The results demonstrated that the overall predictions of the growth of E. coli O157 : H7 agreed with the observed data.

• Tian Ding(Kangwon National University)
• Yong-Guo Jin(College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University)
• S. M. E. Rahman(Division of Food and Biotechnology, Kangwon National University)
• Jai-Moung Kim(Kangwon National University)
• Kang-Hyun Choi(Kangwon National University)
• Gye-Sun Choi(Department of Clinical Research Division Food & Drug Administration)
• Deog-Hwan Oh(강원대학교) | 오덕환 Correspondence