Master of Science / Department of Grain Science and Industry / Bhadriraju Subramanyam / Organic, hard red winter wheat of 11% moisture was tempered with distilled water to moisture levels of 16 and 18% and held for 8, 16, and 24 h. At each moisture and holding time wheat was unexposed (control) or exposed to infrared radiation for 1, 1.5, and 2 min using a bench-top flameless catalytic infrared emitter. The mean external grain temperatures for 16% mc wheat measured with thermocouples during infrared exposure of 1, 1.5, and 2 min ranged from 77.4-83.1, 93.7-101.2, and 91.2-98.3°C, respectively; corresponding mean internal temperatures were 67.3-76.4, 80.0-85.6, and 81.3-93.2°C. Minor differences in kernel moisture, hardness, and weight were observed among treatments. Tempered wheat after infrared exposure among treatments lost 1.5-2% moisture. Infrared exposure of wheat reduced initial bacterial loads (6.7×10[superscript]4 CFU/g) by 98.7% and fungal loads (4.3×10[superscript]3 CFU/g) by 97.8% when compared with those on untreated wheat. Wheat tempered to 18% and exposed for 2 min to infrared radiation lost 2% moisture, and this wheat when milled had a yield of 73.5%. The color of flour from infrared- exposed wheat was slightly dark (color change, ΔE = 0.31) when compared with untreated flour. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that flours from infrared exposed wheat had lower enthalpy (3.0 J/g) than those unexposed to infrared (3.3 J/g). These flours were adversely affected because they had longer mixing times (7-15 min) at all infrared exposures due to the presence of insoluble polymeric proteins (up to 60%). Microbial loads in flour from wheat tempered to 18% and exposed for 1-2 min had 0.6-2.4 log reduction compared to flour from untreated wheat. Wheat tempered to 18% moisture with electrolyzed-oxidizing (EO) water reduced bacterial and fungal loads up to 66%. EO water tempered wheat exposed for 1, 1.5, and 2 min to infrared radiation showed microbial reductions of 99.5% when compared with control wheat. Infrared treatment of tempered wheat cannot be recommended as it adversely affected flour functionality. The use of EO water for tempering as opposed to potable water that is generally used in mills slightly enhances microbial safety of hard red winter wheat.

The objectives of this project were to evaluate the efficacies of electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) and ozonated waters as antimicrobial agents for enhancing the microbiological safety of fresh strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa). The influence of sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations used for preparing EO water was evaluated on their bactericidal activities against naturally occurring aerobic mesophiles on strawberries with a contact time of 5, 10, or 15 min. EO water and ozonated water containing about 1.90 ppm ozone were evaluated and compared with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution on their capabilities to inactivate and control the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated onto strawberries stored at 4 ± 1 °C for up to 15 d, respectively. Post-treatment neutralization of fruit surfaces by washing was also investigated. More than 2 log₁₀ CFU/g reduction of mesophilic aerobic bacteria was achieved in samples washed for 10 or 15 min in EO water prepared from 0.10% (w/v) NaCl solution. Bactericidal activity of treatment solutions against L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 was not affected by post-treatment neutralization, and their effectiveness against both pathogens in whole fruit tissues did not significantly increase with increasing exposure time. The EO water had an equivalent antibacterial effect as compare with NaOCl in eliminating L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 on whole strawberry tissues. Fruit surfaces washing with distilled water resulted in 1.90 and 1.27 log₁₀ CFU/ml of rinse fluid reduction of L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7, respectively, whereas ≥ 2.60 log₁₀ CFU/ml of rinse fluid reduction of L. monocytogenes and up to 2.35 and 3.12 log reduction of E. coli O157:H7 were observed on fruit surfaces washed with EO water and NaOCl solution, respectively. However, EO water and NaOCl solution treatments did not exhibit a higher microbicidal activity than water treatment during refrigeration storage. The ozone treatment on inoculated strawberries was not remarkably effective in removing and eliminating pathogens on the whole fruit tissues, but the populations of L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 were significantly decreased after ozone treatment regardless of the exposure time. The number of L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 on fruit surfaces was decreased by 2.17 and 2.02 log₁₀ CFU/ml of rinse fluid, respectively, after washing with ozonated water for 10 min. / Graduation date: 2008

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