• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.167-171
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• 1994

With a view to improving microbiological quality of spinach powder which is currently used for convenience food production, comparative efficacy of ethylene oxide(EO) fumigation and gamma irradiation was investigated by determining microbial populations and physicochemical quality for treated samples. Spinach powder was contaminated with various microorganisms ranging from $10^{2}/g\;to\;10^{4}/g$, which composed of thermophiles, acid tolerant bacteria, fungi, coliforms, etc. Microorganisms contaminated were destroyed up to undetected levels by gamma irradiation at below 7 kGy. showing the radiosensitivity $D_{10}$ 2.93 kGy on total aerobic bacteria. Ethylene oxide fumigation, however. was found unsatisfactory for physicochemical quality as well as microbial decontamination of the sample. It has been generally observed that influence of optimum-dose range of irradiation on the physicochemical qualities was insignificant, which was proved in the organoleptic evaluations on the stored sample.