Eliminating salmonella enterica in alfalfa and mung bean sprouts by organic acid and hot water immersions

This study evaluated the efficacy of acid and heat treatments for eliminating Salmonella enterica in sprouts grown from inoculated seeds. Salmonella was detected at 7.6 and 6.9 log cfu/g, respectively, in alfalfa and mung bean sprouts after germination. Immersing the alfalfa and mung bean sprouts, respectively, for 24 and 48 h in 2% acetic acid eliminated Salmonella (< 1 cell/25 g). In 5% acetic acid, the elimination of Salmonellain alfalfa and mung bean sprouts was achieved after 4 and 16 h, respectively. However, similar treatments by citric acid were ineffective. Dipping alfalfa sprouts in hot water at 70, 80, 90 and 100C, respectively, for 10, 5, 3 and 3 s eliminated Salmonella. For mung bean sprouts, the elimination was observed at 70 or 80C for 20 s, 90C for 10 s, or 100C for 5 s. This study demonstrated that acetic acid and hot water treatments can be effective in inactivating Salmonella for sprout safety.