Effect of Chlorine Dioxide and Commercial Chlorine Sanitizer on Inhibiting Foodborne Pathogens and on Preventing the Formation of Chemically Injured Cells on Radish Sprouts

This study assessed the efficacy of aqueous chlorine dioxide ($ClO_2$) and commercial chlorine sanitizer in terms of its ability to eliminate Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on radish sprouts (Raphanus sativus L.). Radish sprouts were inoculated with a cocktail containing one each of three strains of three different foodborne pathogens, then treated with distilled water (control) or chemical sanitizers (100 ppm commercial chlorine, and 50, 100, 200 ppm $C1O_2$) for 1, 5, and 10 min at room temperature ($22{\pm}2^{\circ}C$). Populations of S. Typhimurium, E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes were counted at 4.64, 6.05, and 4.29 log CFU/g, respectively, after inoculation. Treatment with water did not significantly reduce the levels of any of the three foodborne pathogens. The levels of all three pathogens were reduced by treatment with chemical sanitizers; however, the observed levels of reduction of E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes were not significant as compared with the controls. The levels of the three pathogens were reduced most profoundly when treated for 10 min with 200 ppm of $C1O_2$, and the reduction levels of S. Typhimurium, E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes were 1.17, 1.63, and 0.96 log CFU/g, respectively. When chemically injured cells were investigated using SPRAB for E. coli O157 :H7 and by selective overlay methods for S. Typhimurium and L. monocytogenes, respectively, it was noted that commercial chlorine sanitizer generated more numbers of injured pathogens than did $C1O_2$. These data indicate that $C1O_2$ treatment may prove useful in reducing the numbers of pathogenic bacteria in radish sprouts.