Efficacy of Chemical Treatments in Eliminating Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on Scarified and Polished Alfalfa Seeds

Alfalfa seeds are sometimes subjected to a scarification treatment to enhance water uptake, which results in more rapid and uniform germination during sprout production. It has been hypothesized that this mechanical abrasion treatment diminishes the efficacy of chemical treatments used to kill or remove pathogenic bacteria from seeds. A study was done to compare the effectiveness of chlorine (20,000 ppm), H2O, (8%), Ca(OH)2 (1%), Ca(OH)2 (1%)...