The isolation and identification of Pantoea dispersa strain JFS as a non-pathogenic surrogate for Salmonella Typhimurium phage type 42 in flour

Abstract

Salmonella is a common pathogen which has been the cause of foodborne illness outbreaks implicating a variety of commodities, including low-moisture foods such as flour. Salmonella costs more than any other pathogen in the United States in terms of health care expenses and time of lost work. Heat treatment can be used to reduce Salmonella and other pathogens in flour to safe levels. However, in low-moisture foods, process times must be increased to achieve adequate lethality, possibly resulting in changes in the flour's functionality such as changes in the gluten quality, vitamin content, and the level of starch gelatinization. There is a need to determine the minimal heat treatment required to achieve desired lethality in flour and other low-moisture foods, with the goal of retaining the flour's functionality. Currently there is no published data about a nonpathogenic bacterial surrogate for Salmonella in flour. In this study, a surrogate, which closely matches the thermal death rate of Salmonella in flour, has been isolated. The surrogate was identified following an evaluation of thermal death curves of ten different strains of bacteria isolated from heat-treated flour and two nonpathogenic surrogates used in other commodities. Flour samples were inoculated with Salmonella or one of the twelve bacterial isolates, and then subjected to heat (70, 75, and 80 °C) for 12-60 min. The heat tolerance for each organism was determined by plating out at least four different time points for each temperature and comparing the death curve to those from Salmonella. The death curve from Pantoea dispersa was not statistically different (p<0.05) than the death curve of Salmonella. This strain of P. dispersa (strain JFS) can be used as a conservative, slightly more heat resistant, surrogate for Salmonella. It can be used to verify the combination of heat and time necessary to kill Salmonella in flour using a commercial heat-treatment process.

Keywords: Flour; Heat treatment; Pantoea dispersa; Salmonella Typhimurium; Surrogate.