Foodborne pathogens constitute a major food safety risk for cantaloupe, and pathogen biofilms formed are particularly difficult to remove. The goal of this study was to evaluate abrasive brushing in removing biofilms from cantaloupe surface using Listeria monocytogenes V7 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 13311 as models. Cantaloupe rind pieces were inoculated and then subjected to 30 min or 24 h incubations. The incubated rind pieces were subject to different washing and/or brushing procedures and then the bacterial cells were enumerated. Cryo-SEM showed planktonic cells after 30 min incubation, whereas biofilms formed at rind surfaces after 24 h incubation. For L. monocytogenes 30 min incubation group, the log reductions were 1.4 for brushing, 2.1 for brushing with diatomaceous earth (DE), 2.8 for peroxyacetic acid (PAA) washing, 4.2 for brushing with PAA, and 4.0 for brushing with DE and PAA. In contrast, for the 24 h incubation group, the log reductions were 0.4 for brushing, 1.5 for brushing with DE, 1.1 for PAA washing, 1.6 for brushing with PAA, and 3.0 for brushing with DE and PAA. Similar results were observed for the S. Typhimurium group. These outcomes showed the pathogen-removal efficacy of brushing with DE (abrasive brushing) in the presence of biofilms, suggesting the potential application of abrasive brushing in cleaning cantaloupe for improved food safety.

食源性病原体构成哈密瓜的主要食品安全风险，形成的病原体生物膜特别难以清除。这项研究的目的是评估使用单核细胞增生性李斯特菌V7和肠炎沙门氏菌鼠伤寒沙门氏菌ATCC 13311作为模型从哈密瓜表面去除生物膜的研磨刷。接种哈密瓜外皮碎片，然后进行30分钟或24小时的孵育。将孵育的果皮碎片进行不同的洗涤和/或刷洗程序，然后计数细菌细胞。冷冻30分钟后，SEM-SEM显示浮游细胞，而孵育24小时后，在果皮表面形成生物膜。对于单核细胞增生李斯特菌孵育30分钟组，刷涂的对数减少为1.4，硅藻土（DE）刷洗的对数减少为2.1，过氧乙酸（PAA）洗刷的对数减少为2.8，PAA刷洗为4.2，DE和PAA刷洗为4.0。相比之下，对于24小时孵育组，刷涂的对数减少量为0.4，刷涂DE的为1.5，洗PAA的为1.1，刷PAA的为1.6，用DE和PAA刷的为3.0。观察到了类似的结果S.鼠伤寒沙门氏菌组。这些结果表明，在存在生物膜的情况下，用DE（磨料刷）刷洗可去除病原体，表明在清洁哈密瓜中使用磨料刷可提高食品安全性。