The effect of combined treatments of pressure, temperature and two disinfectant agents (hypochlorite and carvacrol) applied on
alfalfa seeds, on their germination capability as well as on the reduction of the native microbial load of sprouts developed from treated
seeds was evaluated by using response surface methodology (RSM). The germination percentage decreased as pressure and carvacrol
concentration increased, while calcium hypochlorite concentration had no significant impact on seed viability. The counts of total aerobic
mesophilic bacteria, total and faecal coliforms and moulds and yeast were reduced with increasing pressure and hypochlorite and
carvacrol concentrations. The optimal conditions for improving the microbiological quality of alfalfa seeds (reductions between 4.5 and
5 log CFU/g) for sprouts production were 200 MPa and hypochlorite concentration of 18,000 ppm. On the contrary, the process parameters
of the combined treatment HP/carvacrol that ensure the microbial safety of sprouts (250 MPa and 1500 ppm of carvacrol) reduced
the germination percentage to unacceptable levels.