Increasing the efficacy of antimicrobial chemicals with surfactants
Author: Dr. Girish Ganjyal
Published: 2022
Summary: This project evaluated the impacts of the various types of surfactants in enhancing the antimicrobial efficacy of the peracetic acid (PAA) on select apple varieties. Further, the impacts of the treatments on the quality of the apples were also studied over a storage period of fours weeks in two different storage conditions. The experiments indicated the potential for PAA used with or without surfactants in the apple cleaning process and how the activity of certain surfactants is more effective than others. The results further highlight the challenges that different apple varieties present in developing the most effective cleaning treatments, as well as the difficulty of removing bacteria that are sheltered specifically in the hard-to-reach areas such as the stem bowl and the calyx. The storage experiments indicated, in general, there were no significant negative impacts with the use of the surfactant treatments. The only major negative impact observed was in the case of the surfactant with a very low pH when used on the Granny Smith variety. The acidic nature of the surfactant led to burnt spots on the skin of the Granny Smith apples. This shows that it is critical to assess the acidity of the surfactant before utilizing it on fresh apples. We recommend conducting short preliminary studies to assess the impacts of the surfactant on the skin of the apples before utilizing them in the packing processes.
