Effect of microstructure and initial cell conditions on thermal inactivation kinetics and sublethal injury of Listeria monocytogenes in fish-based food model systems

Abstract

The development of more accurate predictive models that describe the microbial kinetics of mild thermal treatments of foods requires knowledge concerning the influence of food microstructure and initial cell conditions on foodborne pathogens' inactivation kinetics. The effect of food microstructure and initial cell conditions on thermal inactivation kinetics and sublethal injury (SI) of Listeria monocytogenes was investigated at 59, 64 and 69°C. Fish-based food model systems with different microstructures, possessing minimal compositional and physicochemical variations, were used. L. monocytogenes growth morphology had no significant influence on thermal inactivation kinetics. A gelled matrix resulted in a lower specific inactivation rate k_max and a higher residual cell population N_res, while the presence of fat droplets resulted in a higherk_maxand did not influenceN_res. SI was higher in viscous than in gelled systems and more prominent for cells that were grown inside the matrix. Hence, predictive thermal inactivation models could benefit from the inclusion of factors related to the nature of the food matrix and fat properties. Starting inactivation from cells that were grown inside the matrix, resulted in lower (i.e., fail-safe)k_maxvalues and more uncertainty onN_res as compared to starting from cells grown at optimal conditions.

Keywords: Food safety; Predictive microbiology; Sublethal injury; Thermal inactivation.