Pre-harvest internalization and surface survival of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 sprayed onto different lettuce cultivars under field and growth chamber conditions

• Published in: International journal of food microbiology 2019-02, Vol.291, p.197-204
• Main Authors: Erickson, Marilyn C., Liao, Jye-Yin, Payton, Alison S., Cook, Peter W., Den Bakker, Henk C., Bautista, Jesus, Pérez, Juan Carlos Díaz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antimicrobial agents; Antioxidant capacity; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - analysis; Bacteria; Cell culture; Coastal environments; Colony Count, Microbial; Contamination; Cultivars; E coli; Enrichment; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli O157 - isolation & purification; Field tests; Foliage; Food Contamination - analysis; Food Microbiology; Foodborne pathogens; Genotypes; Growth chambers; Inactivation; Internalization; Lactuca - microbiology; Leaves; Lettuce; Organic chemistry; Pathogen; Pathogens; Persistence; Phenols; Phenols - analysis; Phyllosphere; Salmonella; Salmonella - isolation & purification; Spraying; Survival; Vegetables - microbiology; Windows (intervals)
• ISSN: 0168-1605; 1879-3460
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2018.12.001

Plant genotype has been advocated to have an important role in the fate of enteric pathogens residing in lettuce foliage. This study was therefore undertaken under the premise that different pathogen responses could occur in lettuce cultivars with cultivar selection being one of several hurdles in an overall strategy for controlling foodborne pathogens on field-grown produce. Up to eight lettuce cultivars (‘Gabriella’, ‘Green Star’, ‘Muir’, ‘New Red Fire’, ‘Coastal Star’, ‘Starfighter’, ‘Tropicana’, and ‘Two Star’) were examined in these experiments in which the plants were subjected to spray contamination of their foliage with pathogens. In an experiment that addressed internalization of Salmonella, cultivar was determined to be a significant variable (P