Salmonella spp. have been implicated in foodborne disease outbreaks involving chile peppers, usually in combination foods such as chile rellenos, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole and others where the source of contamin...Salmonella spp. have been implicated in foodborne disease outbreaks involving chile peppers, usually in combination foods such as chile rellenos, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole and others where the source of contamination is uncertain. Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 was used in this study to artificially inoculate green chile peppers. Green chile peppers were weighed and artificially contaminated by applying the calculated inoculation volumes of 4 o,L per g of pepper. No presumptive salmonellae were found on any of the peppers prior to inoculation with S. Typhimurium. Twenty inoculated chiles were transferred to a custom built lab-scale roaster and then flame roasted for five minutes until they were blistered on the surface, as is commonly at New Mexico supermarkets. The surface temperature of representative chiles was measured with an infrared thermometer. Flame roasting of green chile peppers is effective in reducing bacterial contaminants on fresh green chile peppers. Based on the TSAYE counts where inoculated chile peppers had a mean plate count of 7.21 and the roasted chile peppers 2.71 and 2.75, a 4.5 log reduction was seen. Results reveal the effectiveness of flame roasting on the microbiological safety and quality of roasted green chile peppers.展开更多
文摘Salmonella spp. have been implicated in foodborne disease outbreaks involving chile peppers, usually in combination foods such as chile rellenos, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole and others where the source of contamination is uncertain. Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 was used in this study to artificially inoculate green chile peppers. Green chile peppers were weighed and artificially contaminated by applying the calculated inoculation volumes of 4 o,L per g of pepper. No presumptive salmonellae were found on any of the peppers prior to inoculation with S. Typhimurium. Twenty inoculated chiles were transferred to a custom built lab-scale roaster and then flame roasted for five minutes until they were blistered on the surface, as is commonly at New Mexico supermarkets. The surface temperature of representative chiles was measured with an infrared thermometer. Flame roasting of green chile peppers is effective in reducing bacterial contaminants on fresh green chile peppers. Based on the TSAYE counts where inoculated chile peppers had a mean plate count of 7.21 and the roasted chile peppers 2.71 and 2.75, a 4.5 log reduction was seen. Results reveal the effectiveness of flame roasting on the microbiological safety and quality of roasted green chile peppers.