Far-UVC light: A promising approach to controlling foodborne pathogens on food-contact surfaces and ready-to-eat-meat

Ready-to-Eat (RTE) foods, particularly deli meats, pose a high risk of foodborne illness. Retail processing also contributes to outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium. Conventional ultraviolet-C (UV-C) decontamination systems pose human-health hazards and cannot be used in occupied spaces despite their strong germicidal effects. This study explores the efficacy of a microplasma-based 222 nm far-UVC lamp as a safer alternative for bacterial inactivation using liquid buffer, two common food-contact surfaces (polyethylene terephthalate and stainless steel), and RTE turkey breast. Our far-UVC light system achieved approximately 5-log reductions of both bacteria in all non-meat cases. It caused a 1.3-log reduction of L. monocytogenes and a 1-log reduction of S. Typhimurium on RTE sliced turkey breast. The effect of far-UVC on the color of the RTE turkey breast samples was also examined. After a dose of 224.7 mJ/cm2, there was no significant change in L*, a*, or b* color values (p > 0.05). However, higher doses of far-UVC could potentially lead to significant color changes. Collectively, our findings suggest that 222 nm far-UVC light can potentially be utilized to enhance the microbiological safety of RTE meat products with minimal effect on their color and the safety of the surfaces they come into contact with. As such light has been deemed human-safe by other studies, it has excellent potential to mitigate RTE food-related safety issues in retail establishments, even when consumers and workers are present, and thus contribute to building a safer and more resilient food system.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Sei Rim

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wang, Yi-Cheng
• Stasiewicz, Matthew J
• Miller, Michael

• Far-uvc
• Food Safety
• Food Microbiology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Sei Rim Kim

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124693

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F124693