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Food perishability: The determination of the vulnerability of food surfaces to bacterial infection
Author(s) -
Clayson D. H. F.,
Blood Ruth M.
Publication year - 1957
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740080707
Subject(s) - bacterial growth , perishability , bacteria , food science , limiting , staphylococcus aureus , salmonella , escherichia coli , relative humidity , biology , contamination , osmotic pressure , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , ecology , biochemistry , mechanical engineering , genetics , physics , marketing , gene , engineering , business , thermodynamics
A technique has been devised whereby the limiting conditions of equilibrium relative humidity, and consequently of osmotic pressure, for bacterial growth can be demonstrated, using bacteria in thin films. With Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli Type I, growth is prevented at and below an e.r.h. of 92% and with Staphylococcus aureus , at or below 85%. From the results, it may be deduced that the surface drying that occurs during baking or on exposure of moist foods to normal atmospheres does afford protection against the increase of surface bacterial contamination. The possibility of the production of variants resisting high osmotic pressure cannot be excluded, but no clear evidence of their production was obtained during the present studies. By a modification of the technique, a heterogeneous article of food can be dissected and the vulnerability of the different parts of the growth of bacterial infection can be determined.