Microbiological quality of fresh-cut sweet potatoes
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Erturk, Elif; Picha, David H.
- Source
- International Journal of Food & Science Technology. Apr 01, 2006 41(4):366-374
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0950-5423
Sweet potato roots were dipped in various concentrations of chlorine for 5 min at 1 or 20 °C before and after slicing, and then stored at 2 or 8 °C for 14 days to evaluate the effects of different chlorine treatments and storage temperatures on the microbiological quality of fresh-cut sweet potato slices. The microflora of fresh-cut sweet potato slices was dominated by mesophiles, followed by psychrotrophs and fungi initially and during storage. The 2 °C storage was necessary to keep the microbial load at a low level. No spoilage was observed in fresh-cut sweet potatoes at both storage temperatures for 14 days. Chlorination of sweet potatoes before slicing was not effective in ensuring acceptable microbiological quality of fresh-cut sweet potatoes. Dipping slices in 200 ppm chlorine at 1 °C reduced the population of all micro-organisms during storage.