Alfalfa Seed - Chlorine (20,000 ppm)
- Method examined in several laboratories using artificially inoculated seed
- Data highly variable from approximately 2 to 7 log reductions reported for Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7
- Differences in inoculation methods and inoculum size, use of seed rinses before and/or after treatment, and treatment methods (e.g., mechanical or hand mixing)
- Consistent finding - treatment does not consistently eliminate pathogens from inoculated seed
- Best to evaluate data for alternative chemical treatments with high levels of chlorine where directly compared in the same laboratory in the same set of experiments