4. Conclusions
The combined treatment of HHP and coating formulation was
characterized by a strong antimicrobial synergistic effect against L.
innocua in the early days of storage, evidenced by a 4 Log CFU/g
reduction of the initial microbial load. However, this combined
treatment showed a significant impact on color and
firmness of
green bean samples, as well a disintegration of the coating layer
accompanied by a reduced antimicrobial efficiency over longer
storage times: after 14 days green beans treated by HHP alone
exhibited similar microbial counts to green beans treated by the
combination of HHP and bioactive coating.
Conversely, samples treated with PL treatment and bioactive
coating did not show any synergistic or additive antimicrobial
effect against L. innocua during storage, with browning spots
formation on samples. However, PL treatment in combination with
bioactive coating did not affect samples
firmness during storage,
nor coating integrity.