Combination of peracetic acid and ultrasound reduces Salmonella Typhimurium on fresh lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa).

Salmonella outbreaks related to fruits and vegetables have been reported being lettuce one of the most contaminated. Peracetic acid (PA) at 50 mg/L, sodium dichloroisocyanurate (SD) at 100 mg/L, and the combination of SD at 100 mg/L and babaçu coconut (Attalea speciosa) oil detergent at 100 mg/L were applied to fresh lettuce. Natural contaminant microbiota, physicochemical characteristics, and sensory attributes were evaluated. PA and SD reduced mesophilic aerobic counts by 2.1 and 1.5 log cfu/g, respectively. The most efficient treatment in reducing natural microbiota (i.e., PA) was applied alone and in combination with ultrasound (US). It reduced Salmonella enterica Typhimurium counts to undetectable levels (< 1 log cfu/g). US further reduced S. Typhimurium counts by 0.6 log cfu/g in relation to PA, treatment which lessened the pH but increased the titratable acidity of lettuce, but did not cause total color difference. Therefore, the combination of PA and US holds a potential industrial application for sanitization purposes.