Effect of ultra violet radiation intensity on inhibition of native microflora of fruit bodies of champignons

Ultraviolet radiation (UV radiation) has long been considered as a physical method of treating various surfaces, permitting to reduce the concentration of undesirable microorganisms significantly or completely inhibit their reproduction. UV radiation is most widely used for surface disinfection in medical and industrial organizations. Processing food products with UV radiation in order to achieve a sterilizing effect has a number of limitations. On the one hand, this is a low depth of penetration of ultraviolet radiation at its low intensity, on the other hand, a significant warming of processed products at high intensity of UV radiation, which can lead to the organoleptic properties degradation of processed products. For effective use of UV radiation in food processing, it is important to establish the dependence of changes in the dynamics of the death of microorganisms that can cause food spoilage on the intensity and time of UV radiation treatment of the surface of food products, provided that their organoleptic properties are preserved. The most sensitive types of food to UV-radiation treatment include vegetable rav’materials, in particular mushrooms. The purpose of this work is to study the dynamics of inhibition of native microflora of fruit bodies of mushrooms when they are treated with UV radiation at different doses and changes in the degree of development of residual microflora during storage of fresh mushrooms treated with UV radiation. Objects of research: model environments containing the native microflora of fresh Agaricus bisporus mushrooms, and directly fresh mushrooms. In the course of work, the optimal treatment mode (radiation intensity and processing time) of fresh mushrooms with UV radiation is established, which ensures the microbiological stability of fresh Agaricus bisporus mushrooms with minimal damage to the surface of the mushrooms and preserving their organoleptic properties during storage. The regularity of inhibition of native microflora on the surface of model media and the surface of fresh mushrooms is established depending on the distance to the source of UV radiation (UV-C lamp) and the accumulated dose. It is noted that the dynamics of inhibition of native microflora on the surface of model media is nonlinear and includes plateau zones. Treatment of fresh mushrooms with UV radiation doses at the level of 320 and 480 J/m2 allowed to increase the shelf life of mushrooms in comparison with control samples by 8 days. When developing the technology for processing fresh mushrooms, it is recommended to use a distance of 25 cm with an accumulated dose of 480 J/m2.