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Minimum water activity requirements for the growth of Listeria monocytogenes
Author(s) -
Farber J.M.,
Coates F.,
Daley E.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/j.1472-765x.1992.tb00737.x
Subject(s) - listeria monocytogenes , water activity , glycerol , sucrose , food science , brain heart infusion , sodium , incubation , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , food microbiology , listeria , bacteria , biochemistry , water content , genetics , geotechnical engineering , engineering , agar , organic chemistry
The ability of five strains of Listeria monocytogenes to initiate growth at five different temperatures in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth adjusted to various water activity ( a w ) values with either sodium chloride (NaCl), sucrose or glycerol was investigated. Glycerol was the least toxic of the three solutes studied, with three of five strains of L. monocytogenes capable of growing in BHI broth adjusted with glycerol to an a w value of 0.90 at 30 C, compared to a w minima of 0.93 and 0.92 in broth adjusted with sucrose and sodium chloride, respectively. The minimum a w value required for growth generally increased as the incubation temperature decreased. Listeria monocytogenes appeared to tolerate glycerol and NaCl best when growing at 30 and 15°C, respectively, while for sucrose, temperature did not appear to influence growth of the organism. Listeria monocytogenes is one of the few food‐borne pathogens that can grow at an a w value below 0.93.