Slightly acidic electrolyzedwater (SAEW) is well known as a good sanitizer against foodborne pathogens on
fresh vegetables. However, microbial reductions from SAEW treatment are not enough to ensure produce
safety. Therefore, it is necessary to improve its antimicrobial efficiency by combining it with other
appropriate approaches. This study examined the microbicidal activity of SAEW (pH 5.2e5.5, oxidation
reduction potential 500e600 mV, available chlorine concentration 21e22 mg/l) on Chinese cabbage, lettuce,
sesame leaf and spinach, four common fresh vegetables in Korea under same laboratory conditions.
Subsequently, effects of ultrasonication and water wash to enhance the sanitizing efficacy of SAEW were
studied, separately. Finally, an optimized simple and easy approach consisting of simultaneous SAEW
treatment with ultrasonication (3 min) followed by water wash (150 rpm, 1 min) was developed
(SAEW þ USeWW). This newly developed hurdle treatment significantly enhanced the microbial reductions
compared to SAEW treatment alone, SAEW treatment with ultrasonication (SAEW þ US) and
SAEW treatment followed by water wash (SAEWeWW) at room temperature (23 2 C). Microbial reductions
of yeasts and molds, total bacteria count and inoculated Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria
monocytogenes were in the range of 1.76e2.8 log cfu/g on different samples using the new hurdle approach.