| Summary: | Papaya-associated foodborne illness outbreaks have been frequently reported worldwide. The goal of this study was to evaluate the behavior of <i>Salmonella</i> Typhimurium and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> on whole papaya during storage and sanitizing process. Fresh green papayas were inoculated with approximately 7 log CFU of <i>S.</i> Typhimurium and <i>L. monocytogenes</i> and stored at 21 or 7 °C for 14 days. Bacteria counts were determined on day 0, 1, 7, 10 and 14. Fresh green papayas inoculated with approximately 8 log CFU of the bacteria were treated for 5 min with 2.5, 5 and 10 ppm aqueous chlorine dioxide (ClO<sub>2</sub>). The ClO<sub>2</sub> solutions were generated by mixing sodium chlorite with an acid, which was HCl, lactic acid or malic acid. The detection limit of the enumeration method was 2.40 log CFU per papaya. At the end of storage period, <i>S.</i> Typhimurium and <i>L. monocytogenes</i> grew by 1.88 and 1.24 log CFU on papayas at 21 °C, respectively. Both bacteria maintained their initial population at inoculation on papayas stored at 7 °C. Higher concentrations of ClO<sub>2</sub> reduced more bacteria on papaya. 10 ppm ClO<sub>2,</sub> regardless the acid used to generate the solutions, inactivated <i>S.</i> Typhimurium to undetectable level on papaya. 10 ppm ClO<sub>2</sub> generated with HCl, lactic acid and malic acid reduced <i>L. monocytogenes</i> by 4.40, 6.54 and 8.04 log CFU on papaya, respectively. Overall, ClO<sub>2</sub> generated with malic acid showed significantly higher bacterial reduction than ClO<sub>2</sub> generated with HCl or lactic acid. These results indicate there is a risk of survival and growth for <i>S.</i> Typhimurium and <i>L. monocytogenes</i> on papaya at commercial storage conditions. Aqueous ClO<sub>2</sub> generated with malic acid shows effectiveness in inactivating the pathogenic bacteria on papaya.
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