Efficacy of Sanitized Ice in Reducing Bacterial Load on Fish Fillet and in the Water Collected from the Melted Ice

• Published in: Journal of food science Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. M231 - M238
• Main Authors: Feliciano, Lizanel, Lee, Jaesung, Lopes, John A, Pascall, Melvin A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.05.2010; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; antimicrobial activity; Bacteria; bacterial contamination; Benzenesulfonates - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Chlorine - pharmacology; Citric Acid - pharmacology; cold storage; Colony Count, Microbial; Comparative analysis; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Electrolysis - methods; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli K12 - drug effects; Escherichia coli K12 - isolation & purification; Fillets; Fish; Fish and seafood industries; fish fillets; food analysis; food composition; food contamination; Food contamination & poisoning; Food industries; Food Microbiology; Food Preservation - methods; Food science; Foodborne Diseases - prevention & control; Formulations; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Ice; Listeria - drug effects; Listeria - isolation & purification; melting; microbial load; Organic acids; Pseudomonas putida - drug effects; Pseudomonas putida - isolation & purification; Reduction; Reduction (electrolytic); safety; sanitizing; Seafood - microbiology; seafoods; storage quality; Studies; tilapia (common name); Tilapia - microbiology; Time Factors; water; Water - chemistry; Water Microbiology; Water; Edible fish; fish; Bacteria; Fish fillet; Ice; Safety; antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agent
• ISSN: 0022-1147; 1750-3841
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01583.x

This study investigated the efficacy of sanitized ice for the reduction of bacteria in the water collected from the ice that melted during storage of whole and filleted Tilapia fish. Also, bacterial reductions on the fish fillets were investigated. The sanitized ice was prepared by freezing solutions of PRO-SAN® (an organic acid formulation) and neutral electrolyzed water (NEW). For the whole fish study, the survival of the natural microflora was determined from the water of the melted ice prepared with PRO-SAN® and tap water. These water samples were collected during an 8 h storage period. For the fish fillet study, samples were inoculated with Escherichia coli K12, Listeria innocua, and Pseudomonas putida then stored on crushed sanitized ice. The efficacies of these were tested by enumerating each bacterial species on the fish fillet and in the water samples at 12 and 24 h intervals for 72 h, respectively. Results showed that each bacterial population was reduced during the test. However, a bacterial reduction of < 1 log CFU was obtained for the fillet samples. A maximum of approximately 2 log CFU and > 3 log CFU reductions were obtained in the waters sampled after the storage of whole fish and the fillets, respectively. These reductions were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the water from sanitized ice when compared with the water from the unsanitized melted ice. These results showed that the organic acid formulation and NEW considerably reduced the bacterial numbers in the melted ice and thus reduced the potential for cross-contamination.