Purpose: This study was designed to look at the application of a low acid pH solution (sold under the trade name Citrilow™) to baby carrots stored refrigerated and then tested on three different days.
Methods: Baby carrots were treated for 30 seconds by dipping the product into an acid solution of pH 1.5. The carrots were rinsed, allowed to drain, individually bagged and held refrigerated (untreated controls that were water rinsed were packaged and stored the same way). The baby carrots (control and treated) were tested on day 0, day 3, and day 5 for aerobic plate count (APC) bacteria.
Results: On day 0, the control product had 6.21 logs of bacteria and the treated product had 4.53 logs of bacteria for an initial reduction of 1.95 logs of bacteria. Day 3 showed the control had 6.24 logs of bacteria and the treated had 4.49 logs of bacteria, for a reduction of 1.80 logs of bacteria. Day 5 showed the control had 6.92 logs of bacteria and the treated had 5.21 logs of bacteria for a reduction of 1.42 logs of bacteria.
Significance: The treated samples showed a reduction of APC counts on day zero which resulted in lower APC counts on subsequent testing days. This reduction of bacteria produces two beneficial results; one it can reduce pathogenic bacteria as well as APC bacteria, thus producing a safer product for the consumer. And two, the reduction of APC bacteria can increase the shelf life of the product, providing the customer with a safer product that can be stored longer and provide cost savings as well.