Midterm 2 Flashcards
Extrinsic factors
properties of the environment “where you put the food”
- temperature
- presence and concentration of gases
- relative humidity
Intrinsic factors
properties of the food “what you put in the food”
- pH
- aw
- oxidation reduction potential
- content of nutrients or antimicrobial constituents
- physical structures
Psychrophiles
love cold
optimum
Psychrotrophs
tolerate cold
optimum >20, can go at
Mesophiles
love ambient optimum ~30-40 e.g. e coli and s aureus no growth at refrigeration temp most food borne pathogens are mesophiles - survive in intestines
Thermophiles
love warm optimum >45 eg. Geobacillus stearothermophilus relavent for spoilage in tropical climates have heat resistant spores
Hyperthermophiles
love very warm
optimum >80
not relavant in foods
Danger Zone
4.4-60 degrees - unsafe
optimum temperature for microbial growth of mesophiles
if you keep foods hotter than 60 and less than 4, growth of most pathogens is inhibited
Foods not to refrigerate
climacteric fruits (tomatoes, melons, bananas) oil, honey and bread
How to store a ham sandwich?
store the whole thing in the fridge because the safety issue of the ham is more important than the spoilage issue of the bread
Bacterial endospores
Heat resistant
cannot be destroyed by household heating
need to be controlled by pressure cooking (>121 degrees) or combined with low pH etc.
Fungal spores
most are as heat sensitive as vegetative cells
will usually be destroyed by cooking or pasteurization
exceptions** byssochlamys fulva, B nivea, Aspergillus fischeri which can withstand pasteurization (fruit juices)
Gaseous environment ambient conditions
20% o2
80% N2
Modified Atmosphere conditions
take away 02
- vacuum packaging
- N2 inhibits growth of aerobic organisms
add Co2
- inhibits growth of aerobic organisms but NOT LAB
Aerobic Spoilage
ex. pseudomonas sp.. can grow (in meat) metabolizes proteins - smell containing N or S odor and slime after 10^7 is reached
Anaerobic Spoilage
ex. LAB
metabolizes CHO - souring
some strains can convert amino acids - occasional S odor
3 magic numbers in food micro
10^6 - over this number will notice activity (dangerous because some infective doses are less than this)
10^9 bacteria will grow to this in food
10^12 max number of bacterial cells (12 d concept)
12 D concept
requires heating process to reduce the bacterial count by 12 log cycles.
ex. if you start at 10^6, and you heat for the time to reduce by 12 log cycles, you would have a population of 10^-6, which would provide a safe product.
- used in canning to ensure no C. botulinum
Can you store spinach in an anaerobic condition?
No - will wilt. Can add Co2 to decrease microbial growth, without suffocating the leaves
Examples of physical barriers (intrinsic factor)
banana peel, egg shells - prevents organism from getting to the nutritious part of the food
butter - makes an emulsion that results in small water droplets - must be small**
Antimicrobials - plant/animal defence systems - examples (intrinsic factor)
e. g. lysozome in egg white - hydrolyzes cell wall and protects if organism gets past the shell
e. g. lactoperoxidase in raw milk - not sufficient on its own
e. g. isohumulones (hops) in beer - also added for flavor - permeabilizes bacterial membranes
e. g. glucosinolates in garlic, onions, and mustard -
Most pathogens do not grow at a pH below…
4.5
exceptions - salmonella, e coli. and s. aureus, LAB
- if ph 4.5 pasteurize, refrigerate or sterilize to kill spores
min water activity examples
pseudamonas 0.97 e.coli and salmonella 0.96 c botulinum 0.94 most spoilage bacteria 0.9 s.aureus 0.86*
min aw for growth is dependent on the solutes** sugar solutions are less inhibitory than salt solutions at the same aw.