A New Point of Use Decontamination Method for Fresh Produce

描述(申请人提供)：近年来，生产者、公众和美国食品和药物管理局越来越关注水果和蔬菜的微生物安全性。农产品相关食源性疾病的暴发被归因于发芽的种子、叶类蔬菜、西红柿、甜瓜、浆果和未经巴氏灭菌的果汁。水果和蔬菜中的食源性疾病与几种微生物有关，包括大肠杆菌O157：H7、沙门氏菌、单核细胞增生性李斯特菌、志贺氏菌、卡氏环孢菌、甲型肝炎病毒和诺沃克样病毒。随着水果和蔬菜消费量的持续增加，新鲜农产品已成为食源性疾病的第二大最常见媒介。尽管加工商和消费者对一些水果和蔬菜进行清洗和消毒步骤以减少微生物负载，但功效数据表明，这些传统方法无法将微生物数量减少90%至99%以上，食源性疾病仍在继续爆发。通过使用一种气体去污方法，可以实现更高的新鲜农产品微生物减少量，这种去污方法使用一种杀伤力更大的消毒剂来接触和杀灭生产者和农民使用的传统洗涤和消毒方法中幸存下来的微生物。臭氧气体已被发现能有效地消除食品表面的微生物。它是已知的最有效的消毒剂之一，但不会在食物或食物接触表面留下有害残留物。此外，臭氧具有GRAS状态和FDA批准用于食品的抗菌处理、加工和储存。尽管有这些优点，传统的臭氧生产方法对于小规模应用来说仍然很复杂，而且还没有被广泛利用来对少量水果和蔬菜的消费点进行消毒。Lynntech，Inc.开发了一种新的电化学方法并获得了专利，该方法利用空气和水的电解来产生臭氧气体。Lynntech提出的技术是唯一适合集成到小型台面设备中的技术，用于最终用户对新鲜农产品的净化。在这个第一阶段的项目中，Lynntech将为一种新的基于电化学的消费设备提供坚实的技术基础，用于新鲜水果和蔬菜的消毒。在第二阶段，Lynntech将寻求FDA的批准，并与有兴趣将该技术转化为商业可行产品的商业合作伙伴建立关系。 与公共健康相关：美国疾病控制与预防中心估计，在美国，食源性疾病每年导致7600万人患病，32.5万人住院，5200人死亡。近几十年来，由未经烹调的水果和蔬菜引起的疫情所占比例有所增加。一种有效的生鲜农产品去污方法可能是提高食品安全和预防疾病的重要干预步骤。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In recent years, producers, the public and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have become increasingly concerned about the microbiological safety of fruits and vegetables. Produce related outbreaks of foodborne illness have been attributed to sprouted seeds, leafy vegetables, tomatoes, melons, berries, and unpasteurized juices. Foodborne illnesses in fruits and vegetables have been linked to several microbial species, including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella species, Listeria monocytogenes, Shigella species, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Hepatitis A virus, and Norwalk-like virus. As fruit and vegetable consumption continues to increase, fresh produce has become the second most common medium for foodborne illness. Although processors and consumers perform washing and sanitizing steps on some fruits and vegetables to reduce microbial load, efficacy data indicates that these conventional methods are not capable of reducing microbial populations by more than 90 to 99%, and foodborne illness outbreaks continue. Higher microbial reductions on fresh produce could be achieved by using a gaseous decontamination that uses a sanitizing agent of greater lethality to contact and kill microorganisms that survive the conventional washing and disinfecting methods used by producers and farmers. Ozone gas has been found to effectively eliminate microorganisms on food surfaces. It is one of the most effective sanitizers known, yet leaves no hazardous residues on food or food contact surfaces. In addition, ozone has GRAS status and FDA approval for the antimicrobial treatment, processing, and storage of foods. Despite these advantages, conventional methods of ozone production remain complicated for small scale applications and have not been widely exploited for the disinfection of small quantities of fruits and vegetables at the point of consumption. Lynntech, Inc. has developed and patented a novel electrochemical method which utilizes air and the electrolysis of water to generate ozone gas. The technology that Lynntech proposes is uniquely suited for integration into a small, countertop device for the decontamination of fresh produce by the end user. During this Phase I project, Lynntech will provide a sound technical basis for a new electrochemically based consumer device for the disinfection of fresh fruits and vegetables. In Phase II, Lynntech will pursue FDA approval and relationships with commercial partners that are interested in seeing the technology to a commercially viable product. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The CDC estimates that foodborne illness accounts for 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,200 deaths in the US each year. The proportion of these outbreaks caused by fruits and vegetables without cooking has increased in recent decades. An effective point of use decontamination method for fresh produce could be an important intervention step in enhancing food safety and preventing illness.