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treatment to recover the confidence to eat peanut butter.
Since the serious cases of Salmonella linked to peanut butter occurred in recent years in USA, the most
serious when peanut butter and
peanut paste produced by Peanut Corporation of America were later found to be
contaminated, triggering an outbreak in 2008 and 2009 that killed nine
people and sickened some 700 others, consumers have lost confidence in one of
the essential products in Americans daily diet. And with good reason because
well know and trusted companies, including "Great Value" present in Chile,
have failed to remove the Salmonella contamination from their products.
But, how the
salmonella reach the peanut butter? Peanuts are grown in fields, along with
manure, mud and other materials, so the presence of Salmonella is always
possible. Consumer knew anything about it leaving their food security in the
hands of the companies so when they fail, consumers are the affected by these
failures.
Related to this, Won-Jae
Song and Dong-Hyun Kang, scientist from Seoul National University, In the
February 2016 edition of Food Microbiology, report their experiments to
inactivate 3 serovars of Salmonella in
peanut butter by subjecting it to 915 MHz microwave heating.
“This study evaluated the efficacy
of a 915 MHz microwave with 3 different levels to inactivate 3 serovars of
Salmonella in peanut butter. Peanut butter inoculated with Salmonella enterica serovar Senftenberg,
S. enterica serovar Typhimurium and S. enterica serovar Tennessee
were treated with a 915 MHz microwave with 2, 4 and 6 kW and acid and
peroxide values and color changes were determined after 5 min of microwave
heating. Salmonella populations were reduced with increasing treatment time and
treatment power,” according to the researchers’ abstract.
“Six kW 915 MHz microwave
treatment for 5 min reduced these three Salmonella serovars by
3.24–4.26 log CFU/g. Four and two kW 915 MHz microwave processing
for 5 min reduced these Salmonella serovars by 1.14–1.48 and
0.15–0.42 log CFU/g, respectively. Microwave treatment did not affect
acid, peroxide, or color values of peanut butter. These results demonstrate
that 915 MHz microwave processing can be used as a control method for
reducing Salmonella in peanut butter without producing quality deterioration,”
they wrote.
While it is true the
results exposes that there no significant change observed of color, acid,
peroxide value and quality in the peanut butter and clearly seems to be a
method of easy application, the study is focused to be used as a control method
for peanut butter pasteurization there is no mention that can be applied at
home so is not recommendable to do this.
Aporte: Nicolina
Prat
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