Comparative Analysis of Alternative Sanitizers for Decontaminating Bacterial Counts on Aromatic Young Coconuts

^1,3 Faculty of Business Administration, Chitralada Technology Institute. Bangkok, Thailand
² Office of General Education, Chitralada Technology Institute. Bangkok, Thailand
⁴ Samroiyod Subdistrict Administration Organization, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand

^* Corresponding author: latchaporn.tha@cdti.ac.th

Abstract

The study explores alternative sanitizers to sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) for reducing bacteria on aromatic young coconuts. Acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and trisodium phosphate (Na₃PO₄) were evaluated for their antimicrobial efficacy. The results showed that acetic acid at 5% concentration for 30 minutes achieved the highest log reduction of 3.498, followed by H₂O₂ at 5% concentration for 5 minutes with a reduction of 2.814. Trisodium phosphate showed modest efficacy. The study also found that combined treatments, such as H₂O₂ followed by acetic acid, resulted in significant log reductions. All treatments showed statistically significant differences compared to the control. The findings suggest that acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide are effective alternatives to NaOCl for postharvest microbial control on aromatic young coconuts. The study highlights the importance of optimizing sanitizer concentration, exposure time, and combined treatments to maximize antimicrobial efficacy while maintaining product quality. Overall, the research provides insights into alternative sanitizers for the food industry, particularly for postharvest treatment of aromatic young coconuts.