Comparative study of UV-C and Titanium dioxide/UV-C Photo catalytic washing disinfection in fresh cut cabbage

Abstract

Growing incidents of foodborne disease outbreaks linked to fruits and vegetables have drawn concern on efficient cleaning of leafy vegetables. A photocatalytic reaction under UV radiation with titanium dioxide (TiO2) gives a good disinfection efficiency. Our aims were to set up a photocatalytic system for fresh cabbage. In addition, we evaluated the cleaning disinfection efficacy of Titanium-dioxide (TiO2) illuminated with UV-C for 20 mins on fresh-cut white cabbage against surface microbes. The photocatalytic experiments were compared with tap water washing for 2 mins which is a common practice for home. The effects UV-C lights (20 mins) and TiO2 photocatalyst (5 min) alone were also studied. The overall quality parameters were compared before and after treatments. Photocatalyst TiO2 illuminated under UV-C showed significant reduction in total aerobic bacteria (2.67 log cfu/g) and yeast mold count (2.93 log cfu/g) followed by UV-C (TAC-2.25 log cfu/g; TYC-2.23 log cfu/g). The effects of TiO2 alone and tap water exhibited same effect as control. The pH of fresh cut cabbage remained same when treated with UV-C with or without photocatalysts. However, Vitamin-C and phenolic content of fresh cut cabbage were reduced when treated with UV-C without photocatalysts by 18.42 mg/100g. TiO2 with UV-C retained the health components like ascorbic acid (28.63±0.77 mg/100g) and TPC(128.54±0.63 mg GAE/100g) showed better disinfection efficacy against natural surface pathogens on cabbage than UV-C alone, can be established as better washing alternative at home and in industry.