Since occurrence of organic matter reduces the concentration of
free chlorine and consequently its antibacterial effect, as already
demonstrated for electrolyzed water against Escherichia coli
O157:H7 in process water (Lopez-G
alvez et al., 2012), we evaluated
the loss of free chlorine in NEW in the presence of fresh cut vegetables.
Kinetics of consumption of chlorine in NEW (Fig. 1) showed
a linear reduction in free chlorine about of 2% after 14 min. Since a
loss of chlorine equal to 5 mg/L was recorded after 5 min of contact
between NEW and fresh cut vegetables, contact time used in the
following assays didn't exceed 5 min.