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Evaluation Of A Natural Antimicrobial-Based Sanitizer As An Alternative To Chlorine For Reducing Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria On Organic Produce, Ellen Rebecca Simmons

Masters Theses

There is a need for the development of a “natural” sanitizing agent to reduce or eliminate foodborne pathogens that meets USDA organic standards, as an alternative to chlorine. The sanitizer needs to eliminate foodborne pathogens and prevent cross contamination in rinse liquids in the presence of organic matter. In this study, the focus was to evaluate a natural antimicrobial-based sanitizing (NABS) agent in rinse liquids to determine if it was capable of eliminating foodborne pathogens on organic produce through cross-contamination studies. Five-serovar/strain cocktails of pathogenic bacteria were combined to form an inoculum cocktail, which was used to inoculate the produce. …