Inactivation of food spoilage fungi by ultra violet (UVC) irradiation

• Published in: International journal of food microbiology 2009-01, Vol.129 (1), p.74-77
• Main Authors: Begum, Mariam, Hocking, Ailsa D., Miskelly, Di
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aspergillus flavus; Aspergillus flavus - growth & development; Aspergillus flavus - physiology; Aspergillus flavus - radiation effects; Aspergillus niger; Aspergillus niger - growth & development; Aspergillus niger - physiology; Aspergillus niger - radiation effects; Biological and medical sciences; Colony Count, Microbial; Consumer Product Safety; Culture Media; Eurotium; Eurotium - growth & development; Eurotium - physiology; Eurotium - radiation effects; Eurotium rubrum; Food Contamination - analysis; Food industries; food irradiation; Food Irradiation - methods; Food Microbiology; food preservation; food spoilage; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; fungal spores; Fungi; Inactivation; Mitosporic Fungi - growth & development; Mitosporic Fungi - physiology; Mitosporic Fungi - radiation effects; molds (fungi); pathogen survival; Penicillium; Penicillium - growth & development; Penicillium - physiology; Penicillium - radiation effects; Penicillium corylophilium; Penicillium corylophilum; radiation resistance; Species Specificity; Spore; Spores, Fungal - growth & development; Spores, Fungal - physiology; Spores, Fungal - radiation effects; Time Factors; Ultraviolet irradiation; ultraviolet radiation; Ultraviolet Rays; UVC; viability
• ISSN: 0168-1605; 1879-3460
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2008.11.020

The effect of ultraviolet irradiation (254 nm, UVC) on Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium corylophilum and Eurotium rubrum was investigated using three different exposure techniques. Survival was determined for spores suspended in liquid medium after 1, 2 and 3 min UVC exposure at 4644 J/m 2/min. The same UVC dose was applied to spores on the surface of agar plates for 5, 10, 15, 30, 60 and 120 s. Spores of A. niger were dried onto a membrane filter, then exposed to UVC treatment. In the liquid medium, treatments from 1–3 min significantly ( P < 0.001) reduce the number of viable spores. On the surface of agar plates, after a 15 s exposure, a 80–99% reduction of viable spores was observed for all species except A. niger, for which the reduction was only 62%. For spores dried onto filter membranes, a 3.5 log 10 reduction was achieved for A. niger after 180 s exposure. These observations suggest that UVC irradiation can effectively inactivate spores of A. flavus, P. corylophilum, E. rubrum and A. niger but the efficacy of UVC radiation against fungal spores varies significantly according to methods of exposure to the irradiation, and among genera.