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Microbial Growth Patterns of Rehydrated Freeze‐Dried Foods. II. Chicken
Author(s) -
PABLO IGNACIO S.,
SILVERMAN GERALD J.,
GOLDBLITH SAMUEL A.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1966.tb00488.x
Subject(s) - food science , population , bacterial growth , staphylococcus aureus , biology , microorganism , freeze drying , shelf life , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , chromatography , genetics , demography , sociology
SUMMARY Microbial growth patterns in rehydrated freeze‐dried chicken at 4, 20, 30, and 37°C are similar to those of rehydrated freeze‐dried shrimp, and are greatly influenced by storage temperature, time, and initial number of microorganisms present. Lag time was shortest at 37 and 30°C, four times as long at 20°C as at 37°C, and 120 times as long at 4°C as at 37°C. At 37°C, the maximum population was 300,000 times the initial population, while at 30°C it was 115,000 times wafter 26 hr. The microbial population increased 100,000‐fold at 55 hr at 20°C, and 500‐fold at 15 days at 4°C. A natural contaminant in the freeze‐dried chicken examined, eoagulase‐positive Staphylococcus aureus , was found to be at a level of 3040 organisms per gram, out of a total population of 10° organisms per gram. Fecal enterococci were also present in the freeze‐dried material at a level of about 10° to 10° per gram. Rehydration studies show that Staphylococcus aureus and “fecal enterococci” as natural contaminants in freeze‐dried chicken can grow in competition with the natural flora at 20 °C or above and that the competition may be due to the nature of the microbial distribution on the chicken surface. Refrigeration temperatures in the vicinity of 4°C completely suppressed the growth of S. aureus and greatly extended the shelf life of rehydrated chicken.