Effect of Talc as a Dry-Inoculation Carrier on Thermal Resistance of Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 in Almond Meal

Abstract

ABSTRACTDry inoculation (DI) methods using a dry carrier have gained considerable interest for assessing thermal inactivation of Salmonella and other microorganisms in low-moisture foods. However, the effect of carrier residues on microbial resistance to heat remains largely unknown. This study aimed to determine the effect of talc powder on thermal resistance of Enterococcus faecium NRRL-B2354 (a Salmonella surrogate) in almond meal at 0.45 water activity (aw). Whole almonds were either immersed in an E. faecium suspension for wet inoculation (WI) or mixed with inoculated talc powder for DI. Two additional experimental conditions, inoculation of WI almond meal with added uninoculated talc (WT) and inoculated talc powder alone, were conducted. After WI, DI, and WT, the almonds were equilibrated to 0.45 aw, ground into a meal, and reequilibrated to 0.45 aw. Isothermal treatments were performed by heating almond meal (about 1 g) in aluminum test cells in a water bath at 80°C, with samples collected at more than five sequential time points from triplicate isothermal runs. E. faecium was enumerated by immediately cooling, diluting, and plating the samples on a nonselective or differential medium. E. faecium was more thermally resistant in DI (D80°C: 63.5 ± 1.9 min) compared with WI almond meal (D80°C: 40.5 ± 1.0 min; P < 0.05), but the resistance in WT almond meal (46.9 ± 0.9 min) was between and different from (P < 0.05) both DI and WI. E. faecium was less resistant in talc powder alone (20.6 ± 1.1 min) compared with all other almond meal samples. Overall, residual talc affected the thermal resistance of E. faecium. Therefore, when determining thermal resistance or validating commercial processes, carriers such as talc should not be used for inoculation of low-moisture foods without first knowing their impact on the target organism.HIGHLIGHTS