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Abstract
Salmonella enterica is a major food safety issue for the spice industry. Slow-releasing chlorine dioxide (ClO2) gas from self-contained sachets, which could be employed in a small-scale operation, was evaluated for its effectiveness in reducing Salmonella contamination on black pepper, cumin, and sesame seed. Three levels of chlorine dioxide gas (100, 200, or 500 mg ClO2/kg spice) were applied to Salmonella inoculated spices. Spices were sampled immediately after treatment, and at 1, 10, and 30 days post-treatment. The combined effect of ClO2 gas treatment and storage time on Salmonella numbers on spices was evaluated. Salmonella numbers on black pepper, cumin, and sesame seed samples were significantly reduced for each treatment level when compared to the control. Generally, Salmonella population numbers decreased over storage time.