Effects of pH and agitation on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes Scott A in brain heart infusion broth containing combined potassium lactate and sodium diacetate during storage at 4 or 10 degrees C

Lactobionic acid enhances the synergistic effect of nisin and thymol against Listeria monocytogenes Scott A in tryptic soy broth and milk

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive opportunistic human pathogen and it remains a significant cause of foodborne illnesses. A variety of natural and synthetic compounds have been studied to inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes in foods. Antimicrobial combinations with synergistic antilisterial properties can reduce the dose of each antimicrobial, which can be further enhanced by chelating compounds. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine antilisterial properties of binary or ternary combinations of lactobionic acid (LBA), nisin, and thymol in tryptic soy broth (TSB), 2% reduced-fat milk, and whole milk. The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of nisin, thymol and LBA was 125IU/mL, 0.25mg/mL, and 10mg/mL, respectively. The ternary combination was the most effective in reducing MICs of antimicrobials, with the MIC of nisin, thymol, and LBA being 31.25IU/mL, 0.0625mg/mL, and 1.25mg/mL, respectively. In TSB with 0.6% yeast extract, L. monocytogenes grew in individual or binary antimicrobial treatments of 31.25IU/mL nisin, 0.0625mg/mL thymol, and 1.25mg/mL LBA within 24h at 32°C, while it was completely inhibited by the ternary combination. In 2% reduced-fat milk at 21°C, the ternary combination of nisin, thymol, and LBA at respective concentrations of 250IU/mL, 2mg/mL, and 10mg/mL completely inhibited the bacterium to below the detection limit in 72h while >2log (CFU/mL) bacteria was still detected in all the binary combinations after 120h. In whole milk, the combination of 500IU/mL nisin, 2mg/mL thymol, and 10mg/mL LBA reduced bacteria to around 2log (CFU/mL) in 4h at 21°C, and no bacterial recovery was observed after 5 d. This study suggested the potential of the ternary combination of nisin, thymol and LBA for food preservation.

Modelling of growth, growth/no-growth interface and nonthermal inactivation areas of Listeria in foods

Growth, growth boundary and inactivation models have been extensively developed in predictive microbiology and are commonly applied in food research nowadays. Few studies though report the development of models which encompass all three areas together. A tiered modelling approach, based on the Gamma hypothesis, is proposed here to predict the behaviour of Listeria. Datasets of Listeria spp. behaviour in laboratory media, meat, dairy, seafood products and vegetables were collected from literature, unpublished sources and from the databases ComBase and Sym'Previus. The explanatory factors were temperature, pH, water activity, lactic and sorbic acids. For the growth part, 697 growth kinetic datasets were fitted. The estimated growth rates and 2021 additional growth primary datasets were used to fit the secondary growth models. In a second step, the fitted model was used to predict the growth/no-growth boundary. For the inactivation modelling phase, 535 inactivation curves were used. Gamma models with and without interactions between the explanatory factors were used for the growth and boundary models. The correct prediction percentage (predicted growth when growth is observed+predicted inactivation when inactivation is observed) varied from 62% to 81% for the models without interactions, and from 85% to 87% for the models with interactions. The median error for the predicted population size was less than 0.34 log(10)(CFU/mL) for all models. The kinetics of inactivation were fitted with modified Weibull primary models and the estimated bacterial resistance was then modelled as a function of the explanatory factors. The error for the predicted microbial population size was less than 0.71 log(10)(CFU/mL) with a median value of less than 0.21 for all foods. The model enables the quantification of the increase or decrease in the bacterial population for a given formulation or storage condition. It might also be used to optimise a food formulation or storage condition in the case of a targeted increase or decrease of the bacterial population.

Survival and growth of Listeria monocytogenes in broth as a function of temperature, pH, and potassium lactate and sodium diacetate concentrations

The objective of this study was to determine the antimicrobial effect of a combination of potassium lactate and sodium diacetate (0, 1.8, 3, and 4.5%; PURASAL P Opti. Form 4, 60% solution) on the survival and growth of Listeria monocytogenes Scott A in pH-adjusted broth (5.5, 6.0, 6.5, and 7.0) stored at 4, 10, 17, 24, 30, and 37 degrees C. Appropriate dilutions of broth were enumerated by spiral plating on tryptose agar and counted with an automated colony counter. Growth data were iteratively fit, using nonlinear regression analysis to a three-phase linear model, using GraphPad PRISM. At pH 5.5, the combination of lactate-diacetate fully inhibited (P < 0.001) the growth of L. monocytogenes at all four levels and six temperatures. At pH 6.0, addition of 1.8% lactate-diacetate reduced (P < 0.001) the specific growth rate of L. monocytogenes and increased lag time; however, 3 and 4.5% completely inhibited the growth at the six temperatures studied. Efficacy of the lactate-diacetate mixture was decreased as pH increased and incubation temperature increased. Thus, at pH 6.5, at least 3% was required to retard (P < 0.001) the growth of L. monocytogenes in broth. There was a limited effect of the lactate-diacetate level on the specific growth rate of the pathogen at pH 7.0. However, 1.8 and 3% significantly lengthened the lag time at 4 and 10 degrees C. These results suggest that 1.8% of lactate-diacetate mixture can be used as a substantial hurdle to the growth of L. monocytogenes when refrigerated temperatures are maintained for products with pH less than 6.5.

Modeling the effect of storage atmosphere on growth-no growth interface of Listeria monocytogenes as a function of temperature, sodium lactate, sodium diacetate, and NaCl

The effect of aerobic and anaerobic conditions on growth initiation by a 10-strain composite of Listeria monocytogenes (10(4) CFU/ml) was evaluated in tryptic soy broth with 0.6% yeast extract (TSBYE) as a function of 220 combinations of pH (3.82 to 7.42), sodium lactate (SL) (0 to 10%, vol/vol), and sodium diacetate (SD) (0 to 0.5%, wt/vol) at 10 or 30 degrees C (a slightly abusive and the optimal growth temperature, both above the growth limiting range of 0 to 3 degrees C for L. monocytogenes) in 96-well microplates. In addition, four probability-of-growth models were developed to quantify the effect of 346 aerobic and 346 anaerobic combinations of temperature (4 to 30 degrees C), SL (0 to 6%, vol/vol), and SD (0 to 0.5%, wt/vol) in the presence of NaCl (0.5 or 2.5%, wt/vol) on the growth-no growth responses of the same L. monocytogenes strain composite, with a microplate reader. Growth responses were evaluated turbidimetrically (620 nm) every 5 days for a total of 40 days. Data were modeled with logistic regression to determine the growth-no growth interfaces. The minimum pH values at which growth of L. monocytogenes occurred were higher under anaerobic than under aerobic conditions, and this difference was more evident at 10 degrees C or at higher SL and SD concentrations. The MIC of SD decreased with increasing SL levels. Anaerobic storage reduced the levels of SL-SD, allowing the growth of L. monocytogenes compared with aerobic storage, especially at low temperatures. In the presence of 2.5% NaCl, the MICs for SD were lower than those obtained with 0.5% NaCl, especially at 4 and 10 degrees C, or in the presence of 5 to 6% SL. The developed models for anaerobic incubation showed good performance (80% successful predictions; i.e., in 40 of 50 comparisons) with independent data from studies on survival-growth of L. monocytogenes on meat products. The study provides quantitative data on the antimicrobial activity of SL (0 to 10%) and SD (0 to 0.5%), temperature (4 to 30 degrees C), and pH (3.82 to 7.42) and on the probability of growth of L. monocytogenes under anaerobic or aerobic conditions in the presence of 0.5 or 2.5% NaCl, and hence, addresses important needs for risk assessment activities.

Control of growth and survival of Listeria monocytogenes on smoked salmon by combined potassium lactate and sodium diacetate and freezing stress during refrigeration and frozen storage

In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial effects of different levels of a potassium lactate (PL) plus sodium diacetate (SDA) mixture against the growth and survival of Listeria monocytogenes Scott A inoculated onto smoked salmon stored at 4, 10, and -20 degrees C. The effect of freezing stress on the growth kinetics of L. monocytogenes Scott A on smoked salmon at 4 and 10 degrees C was also investigated. The use of PL+SDA at all tested levels (1.5, 3.3, and 5% of a 60% commercial solution of PURASAL P Opti. Form 4) completely inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes Scott A on smoked salmon stored at 4 degrees C during 32 days of storage. It also delayed the growth of L. monocytogenes Scott A on smoked salmon stored at 10 degrees C for up to 11 days, but a listeriostatic effect was observed only with 5% PURASAL P Opti. Form 4 at 10 degrees C after 11 days. Addition of PL+SDA at all tested levels decreased the surviving populations of L monocytogenes Scott A on smoked salmon during 10 months of frozen storage at -20 degrees C. Freezing stress significantly (P < 0.001) extended the lag time and delayed the growth of L. monocytogenes Scott A at both 4 and 10 degrees C. However, the effect of freezing stress was more significant at 4 degrees C than at 10 degrees C, indicating the importance of temperature control of smoked salmon during the retail storage period.