• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.312-319
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• 2017

In the present study, disinfection efficacy of slightly acidic electrolyzed water [SlAEW, 30 ppm of effective chlorine at $20{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) $562{\pm}23mV$, pH 6.4] on 4 kinds of vegetables (lettuce leaf, endive leaf, perilla leaf and kale leaf) was evaluated to obtain a microbial reduction characteristics which are necessary to design a process control for non-thermal sterilization of fresh vegetables. Active chlorine, residual chlorine, microbial counts and residual microbial counts, which are the key factors in the non-thermal sterilization process were measured by dipping them in SlAEW three times for 30 minutes in order to analyze the relationship between factors. Total microbial count was decreased mostly during the first 10 minutes of washing, and the limit value that can be reduced by immersion treatment was 3 log CFU/g for the total microbial count surviving in 4 kinds of vegetables. The total number of microorganism that can be reduced by washing in SIAEW for 10 min was found to be about 2 log CFU/g on average. In addition, the active chlorine decreased in the initial 10 minutes in 2.2 ppm, 2.0 ppm, 1.7 ppm and 2.5 ppm in lettuce, perilla leaf, endive leaf and kale leaf, respectively, and about 50-80% of the chlorine was reduced in the initial 10 min appear.