Abstract: The bactericidal effect and anti-browning effect of Electrolyzed Functional Water(EFW)on the fresh-cut potato were evaluated. Fresh-cut potato samples inoculated with three kinds of bacteria (E.coli O78, Staphylococcus aureus 26003, Bacillus subtilis 1.1849) were treated with acidic electrolyzed functional water and deionized water. The total microbial count in the treatment solutions and the homogenate of inoculated potato slices was investigated. It showed that dipping the potato slices with tap water could not decrease the amount of microbes on the samples effectively, whereas processing the fruits and vegetables slices with EFW(pH2.5、ORP1180mV、ACC35mg/L)could reduce the total microbes of the samples significantly. The impact of the EFW on the surface color of potato slices was also investigated, it showed that enzymatic browning of potato slices processed by EFW was well inhibited. The succedent research showed that EFW could reduce the PPO activity by 50%, and that was equivalent to the effect of a usual antibrowning agent, L-cys+Citric Acid, this result explained why the EFW had strong anti-browning effect on the fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. It could be a useful approach to enhance the edible safety and appearance quality of the fresh-cut potato after processing it with the electrolyzed functional water.

Key words: electrolyzed functional water, bactericidal effect, fresh-cut potato, enzymatic browning, polyphenol oxidase