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Antimicrobial Efficacy of GS-2 on Reusable Food Packaging Materials for Specialty Crops.

Authors :
Wong, Catherine W. Y.
Burton, Thomas
Carrera Montoya, Julio
Birje, Nupoor
Zhou, Xinyi
Salazar, Joelle K.
Mackenzie, Jason M.
Rau, Thomas F.
Teplitski, Max
Zhang, Wei
Source :
Foods; Nov2024, Vol. 13 Issue 21, p3490, 18p
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

The European Union (EU) regulations mandate 10% of all food packaging to be reusable by 2030. United States (U.S.) exporters of specialty crops face new challenges in ensuring microbiological food safety using reusable packaging. A novel antimicrobial formulation consisting of ammonium carboxylate salt of capric acid and L-arginine (GS-2) was recently developed as a spray coating chemical for food packaging materials. In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial efficacy of GS-2 against microbial strains representing three foodborne bacterial pathogens (Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica), one fungal spoilage organism (Aspergillus niger), and one surrogate viral pathogen (murine norovirus) on three reusable plastic materials (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, high-density polyethylene, and polypropylene) and one cardboard packaging material, respectively. Different chemical concentrations, exposure times, and storage conditions were individually evaluated for the relative antimicrobial efficacies of GS-2 against these microorganisms. Our results showed that GS-2 was highly effective for inactivating bacterial pathogens on both plastic and cardboard surfaces. For instance, 3% GS-2 achieved a >5 log CFU/in<superscript>2</superscript> reduction in E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and S. enterica on tested plastic surfaces at an exposure time of 60 min. However, its efficacy against A. niger and murine norovirus was less optimal, resulting in a ≤1 log CFU/in<superscript>2</superscript> reduction on all tested surfaces. Based on our study, GS-2 demonstrated a strong potential as an antibacterial coating reagent for reusable food packaging materials to minimize pathogen contamination and ensure the safety of the specialty crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
23048158
Volume :
13
Issue :
21
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Foods
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
180783821
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13213490