Background

Microbial food safety and spoilage due to human pathogens and decay-causing microorganisms are the major challenges for the production of fresh produce where contaminations often occur on the surface of the food. Fresh produce cannot be thermally treated as heating adversely affects the organoleptic characteristics and nutrients of the food, and thermally processed fresh produce may not be considered as “fresh” any more. Shortwave ultraviolet (UV-C) is a nonthermal technology that employs physical light energy to inactivate microorganisms on the surface of foods.

Scope and approach

This article reviewed the most recent development in the application of UV-C for surface decontamination of food with a focus on fresh produce. Considerations and challenges for commercialization of the technology are emphasized. Research on pulsed light (PL) is also discussed as the germicidal effect of PL is mainly due to the UV-C component of the light spectrum.

Key findings and conclusions

Many factors affect the efficacy of UV-C against foodborne pathogenic bacteria for food surface decontamination; these factors include UV-C dose, location of microorganisms on food, surface characteristics of foods, treatment temperature, species and serotype of microorganisms, state of bacteria, time from inoculation to UV-C treatment, and inoculation level. Combinations of UV-C/PL with other interventions can achieve synergistic and/or additive efficacy against human pathogens. For commercialization of the technology, accurate assessment of absorbed UV doses and means to overcome the shadowing effect are needed. Issues such as survival and growth of pathogens during post-UV-C storage, and possible formation of viable, but nonculturable bacteria require further investigations.

中文翻译：

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紫外线C技术在新鲜农产品表面净化中的应用

背景

由于人类病原体和引起腐烂的微生物而导致的微生物食品安全性和变质是生产新鲜农产品的主要挑战，而新鲜农产品通常会在食品表面发生污染。新鲜产品不能进行热处理，因为加热会对食物的感官特性和营养产生不利影响，并且经过热处理的新鲜产品可能不再被视为“新鲜”。短波紫外线（UV-C）是一种非热技术，利用物理光能使食品表面的微生物失活。

范围和方法

本文回顾了UV-C在食品表面消毒中应用的最新进展，重点是新鲜产品。强调了技术商业化的考虑和挑战。还讨论了脉冲光（PL）的研究，因为PL的杀菌作用主要归因于光谱中的UV-C成分。

主要发现和结论

许多因素会影响UV-C抵抗食源性致病菌对食物表面进行净化的功效。这些因素包括UV-C剂量，食物上微生物的位置，食物的表面特性，处理温度，微生物的种类和血清型，细菌的状态，从接种到UV-C处理的时间以及接种水平。UV-C / PL与其他干预措施的结合可以实现针对人类病原体的协同和/或累加功效。为了使该技术商业化，需要准确评估吸收的紫外线剂量以及克服阴影效应的方法。诸如在UV-C后储存期间病原体的存活和生长以及可能形成但无法培养的细菌等问题需要进一步研究。