A comparison of single oxidants versus advanced oxidation processes as chlorine-alternatives for wild blueberry processing (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Advanced oxidation processes and single chemical oxidants were evaluated for their antimicrobial efficacy against common spoilage bacteria isolated from lowbush blueberries. Predominant bacterial flora were identified using biochemical testing with the assessment of relative abundance using non-selective and differential media. Single chemical oxidants evaluated for postharvest processing of lowbush blueberries included 1% hydrogen peroxide, 100 ppm chlorine, and 1 ppm aqueous ozone while advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) included combinations of 1% hydrogen peroxide/UV, 100 ppm chlorine/UV, and 1 ppm ozone/1% hydrogen peroxide/UV. Enterobacter agglomerans and Pseudomonas fluorescens were found to comprise 90–95% of the bacterial flora on lowbush blueberries. Results of inoculation studies reveal significant log reductions (p ≤ 0.05) in populations of E. agglomerans and P. fluorescens on all samples receiving treatment with 1% hydrogen peroxide, 1% hydrogen peroxide/UV, 1 ppm ozone, or a combined ozone/hydrogen peroxide/UV treatment as compared to chlorine treatments and unwashed control berries. Although population reductions approached 2.5 log CFU/g, microbial reductions among these treatments were not found to be significantly different (p ≤ 0.05) from each other despite the synergistic potential that should result from AOPs; furthermore, as a single oxidant, UV inactivation of inoculated bacteria was minimal and did not prove effective as a non-aqueous bactericidal process for fresh pack blueberries. Overall, results indicate that hydrogen peroxide and ozone, as single chemical oxidants, are as effective as AOPs and could be considered as chlorine-alternatives in improving the microbiological quality of lowbush blueberries.