Purpose: The objective of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of hot water treatment in eliminating Salmonella enterica on artificially inoculated mung bean seeds.
Methods: Mung bean seeds were artificially inoculated with a cocktail of four Salmonella strains and stored at 4°C for 24 h. The effectiveness of inactivating Salmonella cells on the inoculated seeds using hot water at 75-90°C for up to 120 s was investigated. The effect of hot water treatment on seed sprouting and recovery of Salmonella cells from sprouted seeds were also investigated.
Results: Although, no viable Salmonella was recovered from seeds treated in hot water at 90°C for up to120 s, these treated seeds failed to germinate. Salmonella was not recovered from seeds treated at 80°C for 100 and 120 s, and from the sprouted seeds. Seed germination ability of treated seeds at 80°C for 100 and 120 s was reduced by 1-4% as compared to the non-treated controls.
Significance: The data presented here suggested that hot water treatments were capable of penetrating and inactivating cells which are attached to inaccessible sites and/or are within biofilms on the seed surface. The results presented here suggest that hot water treatment would be a viable process for enhancing the safety of fresh sprouts.