Francisco Lopez Galvez

• PhD
• Assistant Professor at University of Murcia

Improving the environmental sustainability of the food supply chain will help to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This environmental sustainability is related to different SDGs, but mainly to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The...

The handling of fresh fruits and vegetables in reusable plastic crates (RPCs) has the potential to increase the sustainability of packaging in the fresh produce supply chain. However, the utilization of multiple-use containers can have consequences related to the microbial safety of this type of food. The present study assessed the potential cross-...

Sanitizers are an effective measure to maintain the microbiological safety of fresh produce process water. Proper water disinfection management is critical to avoid cross-contamination during the washing of fresh produce. Chlorine remains the most common sanitizer, and recent research deals, among other topics, with the comparison of different type...

La industria de alimentos vegetales consume grandes volúmenes de agua de buena calidad y genera grandes cantida­des de agua residual. Uno de los sistemas que se pueden aplicar para reducir el consumo y el vertido de agua es la reutilización del agua de lavado. Para llevar a cabo la reutilización del agua sin comprometer la seguridad microbiológica...

Antimicrobial treatment of fresh produce wash water can enable water reuse by avoiding microbial cross-contamination. In this study, the efficacy of chlorine dioxide (ClO2; 2–3 mg/L) to maintain the microbiological quality of process wash water in a tomato packinghouse was assessed. Different parameters were measured, including the physicochemical...

The washing stage from a bell pepper commercial packinghouse was assessed to study some of the critical control points related to bacterial cross-contamination. The washing line comprised two overhead spray bars applications: a pre-wash step without peroxyacetic acid (PAA), and a wash step with PAA. The physicochemical characteristics of the wash w...

Fresh products can become contaminated with disease-causing microorganisms and chemical contaminants at every step of the production and processing chain and in a variety of ways, including through contact with contaminated process water. Water quality is critical to prevent microbial and chemical risks in any of the postharvest and processing oper...

Abstract Fresh produce can become contaminated with disease‐causing microorganisms and chemical contaminants at every step of the production and processing chain and in a variety of ways, including through contact with contaminated process water. Water quality is critical to prevent microbial and chemical risks in any of the postharvest and process...

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1ZNE33PY0vU4j6 Anyone using this link before August 30, 2019 will be taken directly to the final version of the article on ScienceDirect

Fresh produce causes most foodborne outbreaks in the USA, and it is also considered a hazardous food product in other areas of the world such as Europe. The outbreaks attributed to fresh produce increase the focus of producers on hygiene to minimize exposure to food hazards. The fresh produce industry has the urgent need to detect if there are prod...

Antimicrobial treatment of fresh produce process wash water (PWW) needs to be optimized to improve the microbiological safety while minimizing the presence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) that can be adsorbed by the washed produce. In this study, the occurrence of DBPs including trihalomethanes (THMs) and chlorate in the PWW of shredded lettuce,...

The goal of the present study was to establish free chlorine operational limits for the disinfection of different types of fresh-cut produce wash water using sodium hypochlorite (NaClO). The proposed operational limits in the wash water are based on both the effectiveness of microbial inactivation and the occurrence of disinfection by-products (DBP...

Reclaimed water obtained from urban wastewater is currently being used as irrigation water in water‐scarce regions in Spain. However, wastewater can contain enteric viruses that water reclamation treatment cannot remove or inactivate completely. In the present study, greenhouse‐grown baby lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.) was irrigated with secondary tr...

Reclaimed wastewater used for agricultural irrigation should meet specific microbiological standards in order to prevent microbial contamination of the irrigated produce. The objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) for the disinfection of secondary-treated municipal wastewater and its subsequent use for ov...

The efficacy of electrochemical treatment for the disinfection of process wash water, using boron-doped diamond electrodes, as well as its suitability for the fresh-cut produce industry, has been evaluated. Process water containing different levels of organic matter (chemical oxygen demand (COD), around 60, 300, 550±50 and 750±50 mg L⁻¹) obtained f...

Process wash water and washed products from three different fresh produce processing lines were characterized at commercial scale. Different physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of wash water were measured. Great variability between processing lines on the physicochemical quality of process wash water was observed, caused in part by...

Background: Irrigation water disinfection reduces the microbial load but it might lead to the formation and accumulation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in the crop. If DBPs are present in the irrigation water, they can accumulate in the crop, particularly after the regrowth, and be affected by the postharvest handling such as washing and stora...

Background: Treatments for the disinfection of irrigation water have to be evaluated by demonstration tests carried out under commercial settings taking into account not only their antimicrobial activity but also the potential phytotoxic effects on the crop. The consequences of the treatment of irrigation water with chlorine dioxide (ClO2 ) used f...

Irrigation water has been highlighted as a potential contamination source of fresh produce with foodborne pathogens. Water disinfection treatments can be used to improve its microbiological safety. Growers should ascertain the minimum effective disinfectant doses able to achieve the desired microbiological goals. Furthermore, potential unwanted eff...

The effects of relative humidity (RH), fluctuating climate conditions, inoculum size and carrier on the survival of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium on baby lettuce in environmental test chambers were studied. Buffered peptone water (BPW), distilled water (DW), and irrigation water (IW) were compared as inoculum carriers. Additionally, survi...

Aims: To assess the prevalence of enteric viruses in different irrigation water sources and in the irrigated produce, and the possible links with microbiological and physicochemical water characteristics. Methods and results: The prevalence and levels of Escherichia coli, Norovirus (NoV) genogroup I (GI) and II (GII), as well as Hepatitis A viru...

The use of fecal indicators such as Escherichia coli has been proposed as a potential tool to characterize microbial contamination of irrigation water. Recently, not only the type of microbial indicator but also the methodologies used for enumeration have been called into question. The goal of this study was to assess the microbial quality of diffe...

Traditionally, microbiological testing for food safety assurance in fresh-cut industries relied on end product to evaluate compliance with microbial standards. Replacement of end-product testing by a preventive system is being recommended by competent authorities for the production of safe food. In the fresh-cut processing industry, there is still...

High oxygen modified atmospheres have been suggested as an alternative preservation technique to classical low O2 modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) for fresh-cut lettuce. The advantages of high O2 storage would be a strong reduction of browning, avoidance of low O2 levels linked to off-odors, and the inhibition of microbial growth. However, stora...

The authors regret to inform that there is a small error in equations of Bias factor (Bf) and Accuracy factor (Af). Terms gobs and gpred are in the incorrect order (although calculations are right). Bf = 10[∑log(gpred/gobs) / n] Af = 10[∑│log(gpred/gobs)│/ n] The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

In the present study, three recently patented decontamination agents: peroxyacetic acid combined with lactic acid, and two different combinations of hydrogen peroxide with citric acid (with and without propylene glycol), were compared with sodium hypochlorite and tap water washing regarding their effect on equilibrium modified atmosphere packaged (...

In January 2011, a workshop was organized by the EU FP7 Veg-i-Trade project to capture opinions of stakeholders on food safety issues in the global fresh produce supply chain. Food safety experts from various stakeholder types in the farm-to-fork chain were represented: farmer related organizations (n = 6), fresh produce processing and trading comp...

Consumers are switching to fresh, minimally processed foods, creating challenges in terms of ensuring food safety. The shift in food production from local to global has led to a complex logistics chain. These trends and challenges have lead to the development of packaging materials with better barrier properties, and active and intelligent packagin...

The efficacy of an electrochemical treatment in water disinfection, using boron-doped diamond electrodes, was studied and its suitability for the fresh-cut produce industry analyzed. Tap water (TW), and tap water supplemented with NaCl (NaClW) containing different levels of organic matter (Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) around 60, 300, 550 ± 50 and 7...

Washing procedures applied to fresh produce have the potential to reduce contamination from the surface of the product. However, the wash water may also serve as a source of contamination or has great potential to result in cross-contamination. The objective of this study was to evaluate process handling cross-contamination potential and pathogen r...

Chlorine dioxide (ClO(2)) has been postulated as an alternative to sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) for fresh-cut produce sanitization to avoid risks associated with chlorination by-products. Experiments were performed to determine the prevention of cross-contamination of fresh-cut lettuce by Escherichia coli using chlorine dioxide (3 mg/L) or sodium hy...

Aqueous chlorine dioxide (ClO2) has been postulated as an alternative to sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) for fresh-cut produce sanitization with the advantage of avoiding the risks associated with chlorination by-products. However, little is known about its influence on preserving quality and the potential formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) under typi...

A comparative study examining Bolton broth and Preston broth for enrichment and reliable detection of Campylobacter jejuni (both healthy and freeze stressed cells) was performed. Tested as pure cultures, Bolton broth enabled faster resuscitation and growth of C. jejuni compared to Preston broth. When C. jejuni was co-incubated with extended-spectru...

Quorum sensing (QS) inhibitory activity of 29 unifloral honeys was evaluated using the bacterial model Cromobacterium violaceum. The tested honeys were able to inhibit the production of acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) produced by C. violaceum at 0.1 g/ml. However, chestnut and linden honey samples showed the highest inhibitory activity, while orang...

The efficacy of fresh-cut produce sanitizers has mainly been evaluated by measuring microbial reductions on produce. However, its suitability to ensure that pathogens are rapidly killed avoiding cross-contamination of subsequent product also needs to be considered. The efficacy of chlorine, Tsunami, Citrox and Purac on non pathogenic Escherichia co...

It is well known that fresh-cut processors usually rely on wash water sanitizers to reduce microbial counts in order to maintain quality and extend shelf-life of the end product. Water is a useful tool for reducing potential contamination but it can also transfer pathogenic microorganisms. Washing with sanitizers is important in fresh-cut produce h...

The influence of wash water quality on the microbial load and sensory quality of fresh-cut escarole was evaluated. Additionally, the degree of Escherichia coli cross-contamination between inoculated and uninoculated products after washing was also studied. Three types of wash water, i.e., potable water, diluted recirculated water, and recirculated...

The purpose of this research was to investigate the disinfection efficacy of ozone (O(3)) and UV-C illumination (UV), and their combination (O(3)-UV) for reducing microbial flora of fresh-cut onion, escarole, carrot, and spinach wash waters collected from the industry. Furthermore, the influence of water physicochemical parameters on the decontamin...

Increasing concerns about the possible formation of carcinogenic compounds and the emergence of new, more tolerant pathogens, have raised questions on the use of chlorine in fresh-cut produce. There is a growing need to investigate the efficacy of new commercial sanitizing and other alternative technologies. In the present study, the effectiveness...

The effectiveness of photocatalytic disinfection for control of natural and potentially pathogenic microflora in wash waters used for fresh-cut vegetables was evaluated. Wash waters for lettuce, escarole, chicory, carrot, onion, and spinach from a fresh-cut vegetable processing plant were treated with a titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalytic system...

This study assesses the potential microbial risk factors related to the use of soil amendments and irrigation water on potato crops, cultivated in one traditional and two intensive farms during two harvest seasons. The natural microbiota and potentially pathogenic micro-organisms were evaluated in the soil amendment, irrigation water, soil and prod...