DISINFECTION OF TABLE EGGS USING LEMON JUICE AS A NATURAL BIOCIDE
2020
Alaa T. Abdulwahid | Hiba A. Nasear | Samar S. Ghazi
Bacterial contamination of table eggs is a serious public health problem around the worlddue to increase the risks of food-borne illness. Disinfection of table eggs is essential to minimizethe possibility egg contamination from shells. In the current study, 100 samples (table eggs)were collected from different supermarkets of Basrah city. Identification and disinfection ofbacteria on shell of table eggs were done in Veterinary Medicine College, Public HealthLaboratory / University of Basrah. Samples were cultured on blood agar, mannitol salt agar,macConkey agar, salmonella-shigella agar, eosin methylene blue agar, and tryptic soy agar todifferentiate different types of bacteria before and after processing with lemon juice depend onits morphology and Gram's staining. The detection of organisms for genus and species were thendone based on biochemical characteristics using VITEK® 2 system. The present study revealedthat the major contaminant of table eggs was with Gram-negative bacteria and the minorcontaminant was with Gram-positive bacteria. Gram-positive bacteria detected on shell of tableeggs (Leuconostoc species and Gemella bergeri) were resistant to lemon juice. However, Gramnegativebacteria identified on shell of table eggs (Cronobacter sakazakii, Raoultellaornithinolytica, Klebsiella oxytoca, Enterobacter aerogenes, Moraxella group, and Serratiaplymuthica) were sensitive. In conclusion, table eggs collected from supermarkets werecontaminated with pathogenic bacteria. Lemon juice was suitable to be used as an antisepticagent to minimize the contamination of eggshells with Gram-negative bacteria.
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