Postharvest Survival of Foodborne Pathogens on Strawberry Surfaces at Different Maturity Levels

This research article focuses on the survival of pathogens on strawberries at different stages of maturity (unripe, semiripe, and ripe) when stored at temperatures of 15°C, 25°C, and 37°C. The study revealed that both Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogene s survived in all treatment conditions. At 15°C, the maximum reductions in E. coli and L. monocytogenes were observed for unripe strawberries, followed by semiripe and ripe strawberries during a 5‐day storage period. At 37°C, microbial reduction for both pathogens were more pronounced in unripe strawberries, followed by ripe and semiripe strawberries, except for E. coli in semiripe strawberries, which showed an increase in population ( p > 0.05) during a 2‐day storage period. At 25°C, L. monocytogenes displayed a similar trend to that observed at 37°C, whereas E. coli showed the maximum reduction in ripe strawberries, followed by unripe and semiripe strawberries at 2 days. The Weibull model effectively fitted all conditions except for E. coli on semiripe strawberries at 37°C. The findings could provide valuable insights into the survival of pathogens on strawberries and could help in improving strawberry handling.