Read Lynn's Research Report for August, 2001. To reduce the potential of endangering human health from the consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods, such as apple cider, one must find a way to reduce the pathogenic microorganisms in the food. Although pasteurization is a viable method to reduce pathogens, it increases the cost and may lower consumer acceptability and nutritional quality of the apple cider. Non-thermal processes that may reduce pathogens are the use of preservatives, pH modification, ozone, chlorine dioxide, high pressure, and pulse electric field. Ozone and chlorine dioxide are currently not approved by the FDA to be applied as food preservation methods, but they are currently applied in other areas of food processing.
Chlorine dioxide is efficient in eliminating microbes for lettuce, cucumber, and beef.
For thermal or non-thermal processing methods, it would be useful if processors had a rapid, easy, and inexpensive method to verify the proper reduction of pathogens in a product such as apple cider. Such methods exist for some other foods. The studies cited above suggest that an enzyme indicator might better ensure the microbiological safety in apple cider upon processing. However, no published studies address this possibility. However, since fresh apple cider is a seasonal commodity, the tests were conducted using cider in a home juice maker with commercial apples.