Screening of Commercial and Pecan Shell-Extracted Liquid Smoke Agents as Natural Antimicrobials against Foodborne Pathogens

• Published in: Journal of food protection 2012-06, Vol.75 (6), p.1148-1152
• Main Authors: VAN LOO, Ellen J, BABU, D, CRANDALL, Philip G, RICKE, Steven C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Biological and medical sciences; Carya - chemistry; Chemical contaminants; Colony Count, Microbial; Consumer Product Safety; Consumers; E coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Escherichia coli - growth & development; Flavoring Agents - pharmacology; Food contamination & poisoning; Food Contamination - prevention & control; Food industries; Food Microbiology; Food Preservation - methods; Food safety; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Laboratories; Meat industry; Meat processing; Meat Products - microbiology; Natural & organic foods; Pathogens; Poultry; Salmonella; Salmonella enteritidis - drug effects; Salmonella enteritidis - growth & development; Smoke; Solvents; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - growth & development; Staphylococcus infections; Statistical analysis; Variance analysis; Wood
• ISSN: 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-11-543

Liquid smoke extracts have traditionally been used as flavoring agents, are known to possess antioxidant properties, and serve as natural alternatives to conventional antimicrobials. The antimicrobial efficacies of commercial liquid smoke samples may vary depending on their source and composition and the methods used to extract and concentrate the smoke. We investigated the MICs of eight commercial liquid smoke samples against Salmonella Enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli . The commercial liquid smoke samples purchased were supplied by the manufacturer as water-based or concentrated extracts of smoke from different wood sources. The MICs of the commercial smokes to inhibit the growth of foodborne pathogens ranged from 0.5 to 6.0% for E. coli, 0.5 to 8.0% for Salmonella, and 0.38 to 6% for S. aureus. The MIC for each liquid smoke sample was similar in its effect on both E. coli and Salmonella. Solvent-extracted antimicrobials prepared using pecan shells displayed significant differences between their inhibitory concentrations depending on the type of solvent used for extraction. The results indicated that the liquid smoke samples tested in this study could serve as effective natural antimicrobials and that their inhibitory effects depended more on the solvents used for extraction than the wood source.