Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
POSTHARVEST BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY, cilt.231, 2026 (SCI-Expanded)
This study aimed to evaluate the removal of Clostridioides difficile from lettuce using different washing solutions (cinnamon essential oil (CEO)-acetic acid (AA) combinations and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl)) and to assess microbial and physicochemical changes during storage under active modified atmosphere packaging for 10 days at 4 degrees C and 10 degrees C. CEO (0.76 %, v/v)-AA (5 %, v/v) for 5 min and NaOCl (50 ppm, v/v) for 15 min reduced C. difficile counts by 1.15 and 1.57 log CFU g- 1, respectively. No significant change in gas composition occurred in CEO-AA-treated samples during storage. At 10 degrees C, O2 levels fell below 1 % in NaOCl- and tap water-washed samples, yet no C. difficile growth was observed. At both temperatures, aerobic mesophilic bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae counts increased notably after day 5. CEO-AA treatment improved microbial quality but required optimization to better preserve visual characteristics. A loss of texture was observed in CEO-AA-washed lettuce after day 5. Total phenolic content (TPC) remained stable throughout storage. The CEO-AA combination shows potential as an alternative to NaOCl for improving the microbial quality of lettuce. These findings suggest that CEO-AA combinations can serve as an effective alternative to NaOCl for improving microbial safety in lettuce while maintaining key chemical quality parameters. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these treatments in other vegetables and under suboptimal storage conditions, as well as the potential growth of C. difficile and other microorganisms.