Microbial Contamination and Decontamination of Onion and its Products

Abstract

Onion and dehydrated onion products are produced and consumed more than any other agriproduct in India. Massive losses are seen due to poor storage conditions, and thereby, economic loss. Dehydration of onion products is commonly employed to extend the shelf-life and facilitate bulk handling. However, spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms have been reported to contaminate onion and its dehydrated products throughout the process line. To comply with the stringent regulatory aspects, optimizing the decontamination process specific to onion products is necessary. This review corroborates the decontamination technologies applied for onion and dehydrated onion products, including thermal, non-thermal, chemical, and biological methods. Further, a comparison of the efficacy of these treatments on fresh and dehydrated onion products along with a general operating cost estimation has been discussed. This will help the industry select the suitable decontamination technique for dehydrated onion products and design the process thereof. The value added by the decontamination process to the industry and the regulatory bodies have been discussed.

Keywords

• Onion products
• Decontamination
• Process control
• Thermal treatment
• Non-thermal treatment
• Chemical treatments