Modeling the Survival of Salmonella spp. in Soy Sauce Based Products Stored at Two Different Temperatures

Ana Arciniega, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jayne E. Stratton, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Andreia Bianchini, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Bing Wang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Document Type Article

Copyright (c) 2017 Ana C. Arciniega, Jayne Stratton, Andreia Bianchini, Bing Wang

Abstract

An acidified food is defined as a low-acid food to which acid(s) or acid food(s) are added and which has a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below and a water activity (aw) greater than 0.85 (U.S. FDA). A water activity of 0.85 is the upper limit for preventing the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and pH 4.6 is the upper limit preventing the growth of Clostridium botulinum.

When considering survival rate of microbial pathogens, pH, water activity, storage temperature, salt content and holding time are integral and must be considered together. Holding time is required for acidified foods that do not receive a thermal process to ensure the destruction of pathogens; therefore, the temperature of this holding time is also an important factor in the destruction of the microorganisms.

Predictive models can be used to obtain data on the survival rates of bacteria which can be applied to all stages of the manufacturing process. The project focused on ensuring food safety of soy sauce based products; therefore Salmonella spp. were selected for inoculation purposes.