USE OF AQUEOUS DISPERSIONS OF SDS MICELLES TO REMOVE BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION FROM FRESH PRODUCE AND FOOD CONTACT SURFACES

The current trend of increased consumption of fresh produce has coincided with an increase in foodborne illness resulting from fresh produce consumption, which in turn has increased the amount of research directed at understanding the interactions between microbial pathogens and fresh produce. This dissertation examines the removal and inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and E. coli K12 from Romaine lettuce leaves and a model hydrophobic surface (polyvinyl chloride, PVC) using a nanofluid (a fluid containing nanometer-sized particles - in this case, sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) and its combinations with organic acids. A novel mechanism previously proposed by Wasan and Nikolov (D. T. Wasan & Nikolov, 2003) was used as the basis to explore the removal of bacteria from these surfaces by the aqueous dispersion of SDS micelles, and to explain how SDS plus levulinic acid at pH