Robustness of fermented carrot juice against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7

Artisanal vegetable fermentations are regaining popularity in industrialized countries, but they could be prone to contamination with foodborne pathogens. By simulating home or small-scale restaurant fermentations, we evaluated the microbiological safety of spontaneous carrot juice fermentations. Raw carrot juice was spiked with Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7, and the microbial dynamics were followed throughout the entire fermentation process by cultivation and amplicon sequencing. In addition, the behavior of these pathogens was also monitored after addition of raw cucumber juice and storage under refrigerated conditions to mimic post-contamination issues. Although the numbers of the pathogens increased during the first phase of the fermentation, the pathogens were not able to persist throughout the fermentation. Their numbers fell below the detection limit after 8 days of fermentation at 20 degrees C. Further investigation using amplicon sequencing also showed that there was no major impact on the general microbial dynamics of the spontaneous carrot juice fermentation. This indicates that the artisanal carrot juice fermentation is a robust process which resists the persistence of pathogens. More caution is needed however when mixing the final fermented product with a raw juice. When simulating pathogen post-contamination, both Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli were able to survive in the refrigerated fermented juice up to 10 days after the fermentation. Listeria monocytogenes was detected up to 8 days in the refrigerated juice. Pasteurization of the raw juice before adding it to the fermented product is thus recommended.