Formulating essential oil microemulsions as washing solutions for organic fresh produce production

Applications of plant-derived organic essential oils (EOs) as antimicrobials for post-harvest produce operations are limited by their low water solubility. To dissolve EOs in water, microemulsions were studied using two surfactants permitted for organic production, sucrose octanoate ester (SOE) and soy lecithin that were mixed at various mass ratios before dilution with water to 40% w/w. EOs were then mixed with the surfactant solution by hand...