Paper Title
Combined Effect of Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) Illumination and Antimicrobial Wash on Escherichia Coli Inoculated in Fresh-Cut Baby Corn During Storage

Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the inactivation of inoculated Escherichia coli on fresh-cut baby corn by UV-C irradiation incorporated with disinfectants during storage. The effect of treatment on product qualities: weight loss, firmness and color (L*, a*, b*) during storage at 5±1°С for 18 days were also determined. Fresh-cut baby corns were surface inoculated with E. coli 108 CFU/fresh-cut baby corns. An inoculated fresh-cut baby corn was initially wash with distilled water (DW), 1 % citric acid (CA), 200 ppm sodium hypochlorite (SH) and irradiated with UV-C 4.4 KJ.m-2. After washing with CA and SH, inoculated fresh-cut baby corns were irradiated with UV-C as combined treatments. Un-wash and non-irradiated inoculated fresh-cut baby corns were considered as control. All treated fresh-cut baby corns were kept in foam tray wrapped with PVC films at 5 °С±1 for 0, 6, 12 and 18 days, then the samples were analyzed. E. coli were reduced for 2.24, 1.81, 1.71,1.33 and 0.48 Log10 CFU/g after treated with CA, CA+UV-C, SH+UV-C, SH and UV-C respectively. CA+UV-C and SH+UV-C showed the lowest growth rate among all treatments. Furthermore, combined treatments with UV-C illumination could maintain the firmness of fresh-cut baby corn and there were no significant lost in moisture content along the storage time compared to control. A slight change in greenness (a*) occurred in combined treatments after storage, there were no significant differences in lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*). This study indicates that UV-C combined with antimicrobial wash should be taken into consideration as an effective and integrated antimicrobial agent on fresh-cut baby corn during storage. Keywords - Antimicrobial Wash, Escherichia Coli, Firmness, Fresh-cut Baby Corn, UV-C