Letters in Applied Microbiology ISSN 0266-8254

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Inactivation of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes

on iceberg lettuce by dip wash treatments with organic
acids
lmez2
M.Y. Akbas1 and H. O
1 Department of Biology, Gebze Institute of Technology, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey
2 Food Institute, TUB_ITAK Marmara Research Center, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey

Keywords
chlorine, Escherichia coli, iceberg lettuce,
Listeria monocytogenes, organic acids.
Correspondence
M.Y. Akbas, Department of Biology, Gebze
Institute of Technology, PO Box 141, 41400
Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey. E-mail:
akbasm@gyte.edu.tr

2006 1390: received 3 October 2006, revised

and accepted 12 January 2007
doi:10.1111/j.1472-765X.2007.02127.x

Abstract
Aims: To study and compare the efficacy of organic acids and chlorine dipping
in inactivation of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes on fresh-cut iceberg lettuce.
Methods and Results: Fresh-cut iceberg lettuce leaves were inoculated with
E. coli or L. monocytogenes. After inoculation, samples were stored at 4C for 24 h
and dipped in organic acid or chlorine solutions for 2 and 5 min. E. coli and
L. monocytogenes were enumerated on selective media. Treatment of fresh-cut
iceberg lettuce with chlorine solution caused 10 and 20 log10 CFU g)1 reductions in the number of L. monocytogenes and E. coli, respectively. Maximum
reduction for E. coli (about 20 log10 CFU g)1) was obtained for samples
dipped in lactic or citric acids while maximum reduction for L. monocytogenes
(about 15 log10 CFU g)1) was attained for samples dipped in lactic acid.
Conclusions: Dipping of iceberg lettuce in 05% citric acid or 05% lactic acid
solution for 2 min could be as effective as chlorine for reducing microbial populations on fresh-cut iceberg lettuce.
Significance and Impact of the Study: Dipping in solutions containing organic
acids is shown to be effective to reduce E. coli and L. monocytogenes on freshcut iceberg lettuce.

Introduction
Minimally processed ready-to-eat salads include fresh,
washed and chopped vegetables, and these products are
packaged with sealed polymeric films. Consumption of
minimally processed and fresh-cut vegetables has
increased because of their convenience and their health
benefits. However, minimally processed fresh-cut vegetables provide a good substrate for pathogenic microorganisms. A number of outbreaks of food borne illness
have been traced to minimally processed vegetables (Sivapalasingam et al. 2004).
Lettuce and salads containing lettuce may be contaminated with food borne pathogens such as Escherichia coli
(Beuchat 1999; Loncarevic et al. 2005), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia, Citrobacter, Listeria monocytogenes (Beuchat and Brackett 1990; Carlin and Nguyen-the 1994;
Francis et al. 1999) and Yersinia enterocolitica (Escudero

et al. 1999). Microbial contamination of these products

usually occurs during preharvest and postharvest handling. In addition, some treatments such as shredding and
cutting may increase the possibility of microbial growth.
In order to prevent micro-organisms from reaching
undesirable levels in products, contamination should be
minimized, and initial counts before storage should be
decreased by decontamination treatments.
Washing is one of the first processing operations for
ready-to-eat salads. Wash water containing 50100 mg l)1
of free chlorine is usually used to reduce microbial contamination in commercial procedures (Adams et al. 1989;
Carlin et al. 1995; Cherry 1999; Burnett and Beuchat
2002). However, the limited efficacy of chlorine in reducing bacterial populations (Zhang and Farber 1996;
Beuchat 1999; Sapers et al. 2001; Parish et al. 2003) and
its adverse effects, such as formation of trihalomethanes,
have raised concerns by the consumers against chlorine

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619

M.Y. Akbas and H. Olmez

Inactivation of bacteria on lettuce

(Richardson et al. 1998). Therefore, researchers are seeking new alternatives to disinfect fresh produce.
Organic acids are naturally found in a variety of fruits
and fermented foods. They are known to have bactericidal
activity and they are generally recognized as safe (GRAS)
(Izat et al. 1989; Dickson 1992). However, anti-microbial
activity changes among organic acids. Anti-microbial
activity of acetic acid was shown against E. coli, L. monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium (Anderson et al. 1987;
Dickson 1992; Bell et al. 1997) and Y. enterocolitica
(Karapinar and Gonul 1992). Lactic acid was also used as
a sanitizing agent for inactivating Aeromonas on minimally processed vegetables (Uyttendaele et al. 2004). Citric
acid in the form of lemon juice has been demonstrated to
reduce S. typhimurium populations on some fresh fruits
(Fernandez Escartin et al. 1989). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of organic acid
and chlorine dippings for inactivating E. coli and
L. monocytogenes on fresh-cut iceberg lettuce.

samples were stored for 24 h at 4C before they were

treated with sanitizers.
Preparation of dipping solutions
All dipping solutions were prepared daily using sterilized
distilled water. Chlorinated water was prepared by adding
sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution containing 13%
active chlorine (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) to pre-sterilized distilled water to obtain a solution with a concentration of 100 mg l)1 free chlorine. Chlorine content was
determined by a chlorine test kit (Merck). Lactic, citric,
acetic and ascorbic acids were obtained from Merck and
they were used to prepare solutions containing 05%
(v v) and 10% (v v) lactic acid, 05% (w v) and 10%
(w v) citric acid, 05% and 10% (v v) acetic acid, 05%
(w v) and 10% (w v) ascorbic acid. The prepared solutions were used within 30 min.
Dipping of lettuce in solutions

Materials and methods

Preparation of lettuce
Iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) heads were purchased
from a local market on the day of dipping experiments.
The outer leaves and the core were removed from the
heads. The remaining leaves were then rinsed with tap
water for 1 min at 20C. Intact and unwilted leaves were
sliced (nearly 5 2 cm) using a sterile sharpened knife.
Preparation of inocula
E. coli (ATCC 25922) and L. monocytogenes (ATCC 7644)
strains were used in this study. These strains were maintained at 4C on tryptic soy agar (TSA, Difco, Detroit,
MI, USA) slants. A loopful was transferred to 10 ml brain
heart infusion (BHI, Difco, Detroit, MI, USA) broth for
E. coli or 10 ml tryptic soy broth (TSB, Difco, USA) supplemented with 06% yeast extract for L. monocytogenes
followed by incubation at 35C for 24 h to activate the
strains. After this period, a final transfer of 10 ml of
E. coli or L. monocytogenes culture was added into 2 l of
distilled water so that the final cell numbers in the
suspensions were approximately 80 log10 CFU ml)1.

A 75 g of inoculated lettuce was dipped into 15 l of distilled water containing disinfectants with the aid of a sterile
stainless steel spatula at 20C for 2 and 5 min. After dipping, samples were removed using a sterile stainless steel
spatula and drained on sterile cheese cloth for 1 min in
air. Lettuce samples inoculated with E. coli or L. monocytogenes and dipped into distilled water were used as control.
Microbiological analysis
A 25 g of sample from each dipping treatment was aseptically transferred into a stomacher bag. Samples were
homogenized with 225 ml sterile 01% (w v) peptone
water for 2 min using a Seward laboratory stomacher
(model 400, AGB Scientific, Dublin, Ireland). Serial dilutions for each homogenized sample were made in 01%
(w v) peptone water, and they were plated onto appropriate media. E. coli colonies were counted after pour plating on chromogenic rapid E. coli 2 agar (BioRad, Marnes
la Coquette, France) and followed by incubation at 37C
for 24 h. Numbers of L. monocytogenes were determined
by surface plating on Listeria selective agar (PALCAM,
Oxoid, Basingstoke, UK) with modified Listeria selective
supplement (Oxoid). Typical colonies were selected and
counted after incubation at 35C for 48 h.

Inoculation of lettuce
A 100 g of lettuce portions was dipped into E. coli or
L. monocytogenes culture suspensions for 1 min and
placed on sterile cheese cloth for removing excess liquid
for 15 min at room temperature (23C) and transferred
to sterile bags. To facilitate the attachment of bacteria,
620

Statistical analysis
All experiments were replicated three times. Analysis of
variance (anova) was performed with SPSS (SPSS Inc.,
version 115, Chicago, Illinois, USA) followed by post hoc
Tukeys test with a level of significance at P < 005.

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Journal compilation 2007 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Letters in Applied Microbiology 44 (2007) 619624

M.Y. Akbas and H. Olmez

63 007 av
45 016 dw
4.2 012 cw
62 007 av
45 004 dw
43 015 cw
62 007 av
40 014 cw
38 027 dw
63 007 av
42 018 cw
40 014 cw
63 007 av
55 020 aw
55 000 aw
0
2
5

2007 The Authors

Journal compilation 2007 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Letters in Applied Microbiology 44 (2007) 619624

*Values are the mean of three replicates and error bars show standard deviation.
ad
Values in the same row sharing a common letter are not significantly different (P > 005).
v,w
Values in the same column sharing a common letter are not significantly different (P > 005).

63 007 av
34 007 bw
32 037 bw
62 007 av
35 042 bw
35 061 bw
63 007 av
34 028 bw
33 049 bw

Acetic acid
(10%)
pH = 26
Acetic acid
(05%)
pH = 27
Citric acid
(10%)
pH = 22
Citric acid
(05%)
pH = 23
Lactic acid
(10%)
pH = 23
Lactic acid
(05%)
pH = 24
Chlorine
(100 mg l)1)
pH = 86
Distilled
Water
pH = 80
Contact
time (min)

Dipping solutions

Table 1 Comparative effects of organic acids and chlorine dip washing for the inactivation of E. coli on iceberg lettuce (log10 CFU g)1)*

Anti-microbial effects of organic acid solutions and chlorine on E. coli inoculated iceberg lettuce samples are presented in Table 1. The initial population of E. coli on
lettuce was about 63 log10 CFU g)1.
Dipping of lettuce in 05% lactic acid for 2 min
reduced (19 log10 CFU g)1) the number of E. coli significantly (P < 005) as compared to the distilled water dipping. Increasing the treatment time from 2 to 5 min did
not result in any further significant (P > 005) decrease
(20 log10 CFU g)1) in E. coli population on the samples.
When the concentration of lactic acid was increased from
05 to 10%, no significant (P > 005) reduction in the
number of E. coli was observed. No significant (P > 005)
difference was also observed between 2 and 5 min treatment times.
Reductions (about 20 log10 CFU g)1) in the numbers
of E. coli obtained with the 05% citric acid dip for 2 and
5 min were similar to those of lactic acid dipping treatments. Dipping of samples in 10% citric acid for 2 min
significantly (P < 005) reduced (21 log10 CFU g)1) the
number of E. coli on lettuce as compared to the distilled
water dipping. However, increasing the treatment time
from 2 to 5 min for 10% citric acid did not show any
further significant (P > 005) decrease (23 log10 CFU g)1)
in E. coli population.
Populations of E. coli decreased (13 log10 CFU g)1)
significantly (P < 005) when the samples were dipped in
05% acetic acid for 2 min. Increasing the treatment time
from 2 to 5 min did not result in any further significant
(P > 005) decrease (15 log10 CFU g)1) in the number of
E. coli. Dipping of lettuce in 10% acetic acid for 2 min
reduced (15 log10 CFU g)1) the number of E. coli significantly (P < 005) compared to the distilled water dipping.
However, increasing the treatment time from 2 to 5 min
for 10% acetic acid did not result in any further significant (P > 005) decrease (17 log10 CFU g)1) in E. coli
counts.
Dipping of samples in 05% ascorbic acid for 2 min
reduced (about 10 log10 CFU g)1) the number of E. coli
significantly (P < 005) as compared to the distilled water
dipping. The increase in dipping time from 2 to 5 min
did not reduce (12 log10 CFU g)1) the number of E. coli
significantly (P > 005). However, no significant
(P > 005) reductions in E. coli numbers occurred when
the ascorbic acid concentration was increased from 05%
to 10% for 2 and 5 min dipping times.
Significant (P < 005) reductions (20 log10 CFU g)1)
in the number of E. coli were obtained in chlorine
(100 mg l)1) dip of lettuce samples for 2 min as com-

Ascorbic acid
(05%)
pH = 26

Effect of organic acids and chlorine on E. coli

63 007 av
36 008 bw
3.5 007 bw

Results

61 007 av
35 014 bw
32 002 bw

Ascorbic acid
(10%)
pH = 25

Inactivation of bacteria on lettuce

621

622

52 007 av
41 010 dw
40 003 dw
50 007 av
3.7 010 bw
3.6 003 bw
50 007 av
38 010 bw
37 003 bw
52 007 av
46 000 aw
45 000 aw
0
2
5

*Values are the mean of three replicates and error bars show standard deviation.
ad
Values in the same row sharing a common letter are not significantly different (P > 005).
v,w
Values in the same column sharing a common letter are not significantly different (P > 005).

51 007 av
35 003 bw
33 003 bw
51 007 av
37 010 bw
36 003 bw
51 007 av
30 005 cw
29 001 cw
51 007 av
31 011 cw
31 001 cw

Acetic acid
(10%)
pH = 26
Acetic acid
(05%)
pH = 27
Citric acid
(10%)
pH = 22
Citric acid
(05%)
pH = 23
Lactic acid
(10%)
pH = 23
Lactic acid
(05%)
pH = 24
Chlorine
(100 mg l)1)
pH = 86
Dipping solutions

Distilled
Water
pH = 80

A series of experiments were performed to compare the

effectiveness of organic acid dipping treatments in redu-

Contact
time (min)

Discussion

Table 2 Comparative effects of organic acids and chlorine dip washing for the inactivation of L. monocytogenes on iceberg lettuce (log10 CFU g)1)

Effects of organic acid solutions and chlorine on the inactivation of L. monocytogenes on iceberg lettuce are shown
in Table 2. The initial population of L. monocytogenes on
lettuce was about 52 log10 CFU g)1.
Populations of L. monocytogenes were reduced
(15 log10 CFU g)1) significantly (P < 005) when the
samples were dipped in 05% lactic acid for 2 min.
Increasing the treatment time from 2 to 5 min did not
show any significant (P > 005) reduction in the number
of L. monocytogenes. When the concentration of lactic
acid was increased from 05% to 10%, no significant
(P > 005) reduction in the number of L. monocytogenes
was obtained.
Significant (P < 005) reductions (09 log10 CFU g)1)
in the number of L. monocytogenes were obtained for
samples dipped in 05% citric acid for 2 and 5 min compared to the distilled water dipping. Similar reductions
(about 10 log10 CFU g)1) were observed with 10% citric
acid dipping for 2 and 5 min. However, no significant
(P > 005) difference was obtained between 2 and 5 min
dipping times.
Populations of L. monocytogenes were reduced
(08 log10 CFU g)1) significantly (P < 005) when the
samples were dipped in 05% acetic acid for 2 min. The
increase in dipping time from 2 to 5 min did not result
in any significant (P > 005) reduction in L. monocytogenes counts. However, increasing the concentration of
acetic acid from 05% to 10% for 2 and 5 min treatment
time did not result in any further decrease (09 log10 CFU g)1) in L. monocytogenes population.
Significant (P < 005) reductions (<10 log10 CFU g)1)
in the number of L. monocytogenes were observed for
samples dipped in 05% ascorbic acid for 2 and 5 min.
These reductions in the number of L. monocytogenes were
not significantly (P > 005) different from those observed
for 10% ascorbic acid for the same dipping times.
Dipping of samples in 100 mg l)1 of chlorine for 2 min
reduced (about 10 log10 CFU g)1) the number of
L. monocytogenes significantly (P < 005) as compared to
the distilled water dipping. When dipping time was
increased from 2 to 5 min, no significant (P > 005) reduction was observed in the number of L. monocytogenes.

Ascorbic acid
(05%)
pH = 26

Effect of organic acids and chlorine on L. monocytogenes

52 007 av
3.7 011 bw
35 001 bw

Ascorbic acid
(10%)
pH = 25

pared to the distilled water dipping. The increase in dipping time from 2 to 5 min did not affect the inactivation
of E. coli significantly (P > 005).

52 007 av
39 010 dw
39 003 dw

M.Y. Akbas and H. Olmez

Inactivation of bacteria on lettuce

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Journal compilation 2007 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Letters in Applied Microbiology 44 (2007) 619624

M.Y. Akbas and H. Olmez

cing the numbers of E. coli and L. monocytogenes on

fresh-cut iceberg lettuce. All dipping solutions tested were
capable of reducing microbial populations to some extent,
but, the anti-microbial effects were different.
The use of organic acid dips resulted in significant
(P < 005) reductions in the numbers of E. coli and
L. monocytogenes on iceberg lettuce. Maximum reduction
in E. coli was obtained when the fresh-cut iceberg lettuce
was dipped in lactic or citric acids for a period of 2 min
while maximum reduction in L. monocytogenes was
observed for samples dipped in lactic acid for 2 min.
Compared with L. monocytogenes, E. coli was found to be
more sensitive to lethal effect of organic acids than
L. monocytogenes. The resistance of L. monocytogenes may
be related to some inherent property of the organism itself
or to the nature of the attachment of the micro-organism
to lettuce leaf tissues. Takeuchi and Frank (2001) reported that attached bacteria more resistant to sanitizing
agents. In addition, this result may be attributed to the
difference between Gram-negative (E. coli) and Grampositive (L. monocytogenes) characteristics of the bacteria.
Gram-negative bacteria are commonly more susceptible at
low pH than Gram-positive bacteria (Ray and Sandine
1992).
Inhibition of micro-organisms by organic acids
depends upon several factors including reduction in pH,
the ratio of undissociated species of the acid, chain
length, cell physiology and metabolism (Doores 1993). It
is known that weak organic acids are more inhibitory
than strong acids because they are lipophilic and penetrate plasma membrane and thus acidify the cells interior
(Booth and Kroll 1989). It was reported that the antimicrobial activity of acetic acid and vinegar on the survival of Y. enterocolitica was dependent on the inoculum
levels and treatment time (Karapinar and Gonul 1992). In
our work, high levels of bacteria were inoculated to freshcut lettuce surface. A large number of bacteria may be
entrapped in injured sites of the lettuce and; thus, reducing the effect of dipping treatments. In addition, the cutsurface greatly increases the surface area for bacterial
attachment, which in turn enhances the survival of the
bacteria. Cut surface area may also introduce additional
organic matter into the wash water; thus, decreasing sanitizer effectiveness (Rodgers et al. 2004).
The anti-microbial activity of dipping solutions containing organic acids against both microorganisms
occurred primarily during the first 2 min of exposure.
Dipping of lettuce in organic acids primarily acetic acid,
with the concentration of more than 10% may influence
the organoleptic quality of the samples. Therefore, it is
important to achieve maximum degree of reduction in
microbial population at lower concentration of organic
acids in a shorter period of time.

Inactivation of bacteria on lettuce

Chlorine exhibited its anti-microbial effect during the

first 2 min of contact as similar to the organic acids did.
L. monocytogenes was found to be more resistant to chlorine than E. coli. Populations of L. monocytogenes and
E. coli were reduced about 10 and 20 log10 CFU g)1,
respectively, in 2 min exposure of lettuce samples to
chlorine. These results are consistent with the data reported by Beuchat (1996) and Cherry (1999) who found that
water containing 50200 mg l)1 of chlorine resulted in a
reduction in bacterial populations of less than 2 log10
CFU g)1 for fruits and vegetables. In addition, Nguyenthe and Carlin (1994) suggested that inactivation of
L. monocytogenes on vegetables by chlorine was limited or
unpredictable. Zhang and Farber (1996) determined that
treatment of shredded lettuce with 200 mg l)1 chlorine
for 10 min reduced the population of L. monocytogenes
about 17 log10 CFU g)1.
Citric and lactic acids reduced E. coli populations in a
similar extent to chlorine (about 20 log10 CFU g)1).
Chlorine, citric and acetic acids showed same degree of
inactivation for L. monocytogenes (about 10 log10
CFU g)1) on lettuce. However, lactic acid was found to be
the most effective treatment for reduction (about
15 log10 CFU g)1) of L. monocytogenes. Commercial use
of organic acid dips is believed to overcome potential hazards of chlorine to the environment and human health.
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Journal compilation 2007 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Letters in Applied Microbiology 44 (2007) 619624