AVALIAÇÃO DO EFEITO COMBINADO DA NEBULIZAÇÃO COM CURCUMINA E LUZ DE LED NA INATIVAÇÃO DE PATÓGENOS EM PRESUNTO FATIADO

Abstract

Nebulization technology presents itself as a very versatile technique to produce safe food, which can be used both for superficial decontamination of food and as a complementary cleaning technique. Nebulization consists in the dispersion of liquid sanitizers as a fine mist in the air, which allows 3D coverage of the environment and the reach of sanitizers at specific points in equipment. However, in addition to promoting environmental and equipment decontamination, the technique can be used in food superficial decontamination, through the direct nebulization of chemical sanitizers, or in conjunction with photodynamic treatment. Photodynamic treatment consists of a promising emerging non-thermal technology to produce safe foods and is based on the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), through the excitation of a photosensitizer in the light presence, resulting in the bacterial cell oxidation and degradation. Curcumin is the main active component extracted from the essential oil of Curcuma longa L. with several benefits, such as antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, in addition to being a photosensitizer with great potential to use in photodynamic treatment. Ready-to-eat foods, such as sliced ham, are an important product alternative, since they are already ready to be consumed. However, as they do not undergo treatment before consumption, these products present a high risk of contamination by pathogens, such as Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the combined effect of nebulized curcumin with the photodynamic treatment with LED light, in the inactivation of Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus in sliced ham. However, although similar studies report an effect on the inactivation of these pathogens using these technologies, there was no effect on reducing the microbial contamination analyzed in this study.