Application of an innovative water-assisted ultraviolet C light technology for the inactivation of microorganisms in tomato processing industries.

We aimed to study the efficacy of a water-assisted UVC light device (WUVC) as an innovative clean technology for the disinfection of fresh sound tomatoes and processing wash water and water turbidity was evaluated as a critical parameter. First, wash waters with different turbidities (from 0.4 to 828 NTU) were inoculated with Listeria innocua and treated in the WUVC device at different dosages. Secondly, fresh tomatoes, inoculated with L. innocua and non-inoculated ones, were treated using the WUVC device containing wash water of different turbidities for different times. The reduction of L. innocua populations on wash water and on the surface of tomato was influenced by turbidity; lower reduction values were observed at higher turbidities. Washing tomatoes with tap water with UVC lamps off (control treatment, TW) decreased L. innocua population on the surface of tomatoes but did not eliminate those bacteria that went into the water. Contrarily, when UVC lights were on, L. innocua population in wash water after treatment significantly decreased, those in clean water being the lowest populations. Reductions of native microbiota on the clean water treated with the highest UV-C radiation dose were lower than those obtained when tomatoes were artificially inoculated. We demonstrated that high reductions of L. innocua population on fresh tomatoes could be achieved using the WUVC system but some drawbacks related to the increase of turbidity should be solved for its implementation in real conditions.

The use of sodium carbonate to improve curing treatments against green and blue moulds on citrus fruits.

The effectiveness of curing oranges and lemons at 33 degrees C for 65h followed by storage under ambient and cold-storage conditions was investigated. This treatment effectively reduced the incidence of Penicillium digitatum (Pers) Sacc and P italicum Wehmer decay on inoculated and naturally infected oranges and lemons stored at 20 degrees C for 7 days. However, it failed to control green and blue mould infections on fruits placed in long-term cold storage, except green mould on oranges, which was effectively controlled. Dipping fruits in a sodium carbonate solution (20 g litre(-1)) for 2.5 min following a curing treatment at 33 degrees C for 65 h satisfactorily reduced green and blue mould incidence during subsequent long-term storage at 4 degrees C on oranges and at 10 degrees C on lemons. The efficacy was greater on injured fruits inoculated after the combination of treatments was applied, achieving a 60-80% reduction in decay in comparison with the curing treatment alone in all cases. A significant reduction of blue mould was also observed on fruits inoculated both before the treatments and on those re-inoculated after the treatments, demonstrating both protectant and eradicant activity. Thus, combining curing at 33 degrees C for 65 h with sodium carbonate treatment effectively controlled these post-harvest diseases on artificially inoculated citrus fruits and protected against re-infection. With naturally inoculated lemons, curing followed by sodium carbonate significantly reduced both green and blue mould incidence, but was not superior to curing alone. With naturally infected oranges, curing significantly reduced blue mould, but decay was not reduced further when followed by sodium carbonate treatment.

Combining Pantoea agglomerans (CPA-2) and curing treatments to control established infections of Penicillium digitatum on lemons.

The effectiveness of the strain CPA-2 of Pantoea agglomerans alone or in combination with a curing treatment at 33 degrees C for 65 h to control green mold was evaluated on lemons stored at ambient temperature and in cold storage. An application of P. agglomerans at 2 x 10(8) CFU/ml effectively reduced green mold incidence on recently inoculated lemons stored at temperatures from 5 to 25 degrees C. Moreover, a 30-s immersion of lemons in a P. agglomerans suspension at 2 x 10(8) CFU/ml significantly reduced green mold incidence, even when delayed up to 15 h after inoculation with Penicillium digitatum at either 20 degrees C or while in cold storage. However, it failed to control established infections of P. digitatum of more than 24 h. Curing P. agglomerans-treated lemons at 33 degrees C for 65 h completely controlled 24-h-old infections on artificially inoculated lemons stored at 20 degrees C for 14 days and on naturally infected lemons stored at 10 degrees C for 3 weeks plus 7 additional days at 20 degrees C. When applied before curing, population growth of P. agglomerans in wounds was similar to that within wounds of control fruits at 20 degrees C. In contrast, when it was applied immediately after curing treatment, P. agglomerans populations within wounds did not increase.

Effect of water activity and temperature on competing abilities of common postharvest citrus fungi.

The effect of temperature (4-30 degrees C) and water activity (a(w), 0.995-0.90) on the 'in vitro' interactions between Penicillium digitatum, Penicillium italicum and Geotrichum candidum were evaluated. The effect of temperature on growth of green and blue mould decays and their interactions on wounded oranges was also studied. The major competing abilities were observed at optimal conditions of temperature and a(w) for growth (25 degrees C and 0.995 a(w)), and no differences between growth rates when the fungi were growing alone or paired were observed in the other studied conditions. P. italicum and G. candidum were able to reduce the growth rate of P. digitatum when it was growing paired 'in vitro', suggesting that inhibitory metabolites were produced. In the 'in vivo' assays, growth rates of green mould were higher than those of blue mould at any temperature studied. However, at 4 degrees C, P. italicum began its rot development 1 week before P. digitatum. When these two pathogens were inoculated into the same wound at 25 degrees C, blue mould was practically inhibited. The difference between the results obtained in 'in vitro' and 'in vivo' assays suggests that other factors could interact with fungi, favoring the development of one pathogen to the detriment of the others.

Liquid Formulation of the Postharvest Biocontrol Agent Candida sake CPA-1 in Isotonic Solutions.

ABSTRACT Viability of the postharvest biocontrol agent Candida sake CPA-1 stored as liquid formulation was evaluated by studying the effect of growth, preservation medium, and temperature. C. sake was grown in molasses medium with unmodified water activity (a(w)) and in the same with a(w) modified to 0.98 with the addition of several solutes. Cells were preserved with isotonic solutions of different substances. Efficacy of liquid formulations stored for different periods was tested against infection by Penicillium expansum on apples. The best growth media were the (unmodified one and those modified to 0.98 a(w) with the addition of glycerol or sorbitol. For all growth media, the best preservation medium was the isotonic solution prepared with trehalose. When the effect of trehalose concentration in the preservation medium was studied, generally, at trehalose concentrations below the isotonic one, C. sake viabilities increased with increased trehalose. However, the best results were obtained when cells were preserved with the trehalose solution which was isotonic with cells. After 7 months of storage at 4 degrees C, cells that were grown in the sorbitol-modified medium and preserved with the isotonic solution of trehalose (0.96 M) maintained their viability and efficacy against P. expansum infection of apples.

Control of Penicillium expansum and Botrytis cinerea on apples and pears with the combination of Candida sake and Pantoea agglomerans.

The effectiveness of Candida sake (CPA-1) in combination with Pantoea agglomerans (CPA-2) for controlling Penicillium expansum and Botrytis cinerea on pears and apples was determined. The concentrations tested were 2 x 10(6) and 2 x 10(7) CFU/ml for C. sake and 2 x 10(7) and 8 x 10(7) CFU/ml for P. agglomerans. At room temperature, the two antagonists were combined in proportions of 0 to 100% in 25% increments. At the proportion of 50:50, no rot development was observed in pears, and the greatest control of blue mold in apples was observed at this proportion for all the tested concentrations. Under cold temperature on pears, the highest effectiveness of the mixture was observed when C. sake at 2 x 10(7) CFU/ml was combined with P. agglomerans at 2 x 10(7) or at 8 x 10(7) CFU/ml at the proportion 50:50. Under these conditions, no rot development of blue mold was reported, and gray mold lesion size was reduced by more than 95%. On apples, the mixture of C. sake at 2 x 10(7) CFU/ml and P. agglomerans at 8 x 10(7) CFU/ml at the proportion 50:50 reduced blue and gray mold incidence by 90%. Populations of the two antagonists had the same growth pattern at 20 degrees C when they were applied individually or in combination, but the population level was always higher when they grew alone. In contrast, at 1 degrees C, the population of both antagonists in combination formed a stable community with the same levels as individual application during the first 30 days; after that, C. sake dominated, and P. agglomerans decreased on apples and pears. At both temperatures, the maximum population level of C. sake was observed in apples, and themaximum population level of P. agglomerans was observed in pears.

Improved Control of Postharvest Decay of Pears by the Combination of Candida sake (CPA-1) and Ammonium Molybdate.

ABSTRACT The potential enhancement of Candida sake (CPA-1) by ammonium molybdate to control blue and gray mold caused by Penicillium expansum and Botrytis cinerea, respectively, on Blanquilla pears was investigated. In laboratory trials, improved control of blue and gray molds was obtained with the application of ammonium molybdate (1, 5, 10, and 15 mM) alone or in combination with C. sake at 2 x 10(6) or 2 x 10(7) CFU ml(-1) on Blanquilla pears stored at 20 degrees C. In semicommercial trials at 1 degrees C for 5 months, the efficacy of C. sake at 2 x 10(6) CFU ml(-1) on reducing P. expansum and B. cinerea decay was enhanced more than 88% with the addition of ammonium molybdate 5 mM in the 1999-2000 season. In two seasons, the performance C. sake at 2 x 10(6) CFU ml(-1) plus ammonium molybdate was similar to or greater than that of C. sake at 2 x 10(7) CFU ml(-1). Similar control of blue mold was obtained on pears stored under low oxygen conditions. The preharvest application of ammonium molybdate did not reduce postharvest blue mold decay. The population of C. sake on pear wounds significantly decreased in the presence of ammonium molybdate 1 and 5 mM at 20 and 1 degrees C.