Synergistic effect of oxidized electrolyzed water and fumaric acid for control of some species of Salmonella enterica in beef.

Salmonella is the common reason of foodborne concern in meat and meat products worldwide. Chemical sanitizers as fumaric acid (FA) and the slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) can reduce microbial contaminations which reflected on the quality and microbial safety of beef. The current study was performed to determine the synergetic impact of 1% FA and SAEW 30 mg/L for the deactivation of both Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella virchow previously isolated from meat. A two-kilogram beef sample was divided into two portions, each inoculated with a different Salmonella strain: S. virchow and S. enteritidis, both of 106 CFU/ml. Each portion was subdivided into four groups; group A (positive control), group B (treated with SAEW 30 mg/L pH 6 for five minutes), group C (treated with FA 1% for five minutes), and group D (treated with SAEW 30 mg/L for five minutes then FA 1% for five minutes). Results indicated that SAEW 30mg/L caused a log reduction of 1.94 log cfu/g (30.9%) and 2.15 log cfu/g (33.3%) in S. virchow and S. enteritidis respectively. While 1% FA yielded a log reduction of 1.69 log cfu/g (26.9%) in S. virchow and 1.83 log cfu/g (28.5%) in S. enteritidis. On the other hand, the incorporation of SAEW 30 mg/L and 1% FA led to a log reduction of 2.93 log cfu/g (46.7%) and 3.14 log cfu/g (48.7%) in S. virchow and S. enteritidis respectively. No noticeable changes in the odor, color, texture, pH and overall appearance (OAA) of beef specimens inoculated with S. virchow or S. enteritidis after treatment with sanitizing agents in comparison to the control groups. SAEW 30 mg/L and 1% FA have strong bactericidal activity against Salmonella spp. The integrated treatment by SAEW and 1% FA exhibited a greater bactericidal impact and significantly reduced the Salmonella count in meat compared to single treatments. Despite the strong effect of the electrolyzed water and fumaric acid compound, these compounds were unable to completely eliminate Salmonella bacteria, which is considered one of the basic requirements for any food standard specification.