For E. coli O157:H7, the CBO coating treatments with and without
SBO reduced the pathogen to the detection limit after 1-day storage
with no recovery during 15 day storage. For coating treatments with
CBO, populations of 2.5 and 3.0 log CFU/cm2 were detected at day 7
for S. enterica and L. monocytogenes, respectively. S. enterica became
undetectable after 11 and 15 day storage, while L. monocytogenes
estimated to be $0.41. Considering operating costs, the total costs
for each cantaloupe are expected to be less than 1 cent for the
CBO + SBO formulation. The additional coating costs can be justified
by the reduced number of recalls and the extended shelf-life of cantaloupes.
Our findings can directly benefit melon producers to reduce
the outbreak of foodborne illnesses and can be applied to other fruits
and vegetables.