Abstract
The use of disinfection agents in the washing processing of ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetables, especially sodium hypochlorite, is a common industrial practice performed to enhance microbiological quality. However, some studies have reported a restart of bacterial growth and a substantial increase in bacterial load during early storage associated with the use of disinfection agents, which might represent a risk for consumers. We evaluated the effect of sodium hypochlorite on bacterial growth trends during the shelf-life in Lactuca sativa, simulating the industrial procedures for RTE vegetable packaging. Immediately after sodium hypochlorite treatment, an effective abatement of the bacterial load was observed, followed by a restart of growth throughout storage. After 5 days, the bacterial load was close to that reached by the control samples, indicating that the net increase in bacterial load was significantly higher in the treated samples. This might be ascribed to the reduction in competitive microflora and/or to the induction of adaptive responses by resting bacteria, which might select disinfectant-resistant bacteria. These findings elicit some concerns about the actual duration of the shelf-life; products might decrease their microbiological quality earlier during storage, pointing out the need to better clarify the impact of sodium hypochlorite as a sanitizer to closer consider its use in RTE vegetable processing. Furthermore, due to the importance of the rapid estimation of bacterial load and the early detection of foodborne pathogens throughout the food chain, the accuracy of the rapid bacteria detection method, the Micro Biological Survey (MBS), and its effectiveness for microbiological analyses of RTE vegetables were evaluated.