Quantifying the effect of sorbic acid, heat and combination of both on germination and outgrowth of Bacillus subtilis spores at single cell resolution.

Quantifying the effect of sorbic acid, heat and combination of both on germination and outgrowth of Bacillus subtilis spores at single cell resolution. Food Microbiol. 2015 Dec;52:88-96 Authors: Pandey R, Pieper GH, Beek AT, Vischer NO, Smelt JP, Manders EM, Brul S Abstract Bacillus subtilis spores are a problem for the food industry as they are able to survive preservation processes. The spores often reside in food products, where their inherent protection against various stress treatments causes food spoilage. Sorbic acid is widely used as a weak acid preservative in the food industry. Its effect on spore germination and outgrowth in a combined, 'hurdle', preservation setting has gained limited attention. Therefore, the effects of mild sorbic acid (3 mM), heat-treatment (85 °C for 10 min) and a combination of both mild stresses on germination and outgrowth of B. subtilis 1A700 spores were analysed at single spore level. The heat-treatment of the spore population resulted in a germination efficiency of 46.8% and an outgrowth efficiency of 32.9%. In the presence of sorbic acid (3 mM), the germination and outgrowth efficiency was 93.3% and 80.4% respectively whereas the combined heat and sorbic acid stress led to germination and outgrowth efficiencies of 52.7% and 27.0% respectively. The heat treatment clearly primarily affected the germination process, while sorbic acid affected the outgrowth and generation time. In addition a n...
Source: Food Microbiology - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Food Microbiol Source Type: research