Plant essential oils and their components have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities and GRAS status. They demonstrate great potential as natural food antimicrobials to meet consumers' rising demands for natural food products. We found that thyme oil (2 mg/ml) or a thymol (0.4 mg/ml) 5-min wash achieved more than 4 log reductions of Salmonella enterica serovars on surface-inoculated grape tomatoes, and their efficacy were comparable to a chlorine wash at 200 ppm. The antimicrobial washes also dramatically reduced the risk of potential transmission of pathogens from tomatoes to washing solutions, and had minimal effects on the total phenolic, ascorbic acid content, color, aroma, and visual quality of treated grape tomatoes. A novel antimicrobial formulation is also explored by the combination of essential oils with organic food plus, hydrogen peroxide, and surfactants. This formulation was studied as a washing solution for both fresh produce and poultry meats to improve the food safety.

Antimicrobial activities of plant essential oils and their application to improve food safety of fresh produce and meat products

244th National Meeting (2012)

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