Thermal Inactivation of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris in a Model Food

Abstract

Thermal process is among the safer and most used food preservation technique. The utilization of model foods in thermal processes studies has several advantages, and the determination of microorganisms thermal inactivation kinetics in model foods is extremely interesting for studying thermal processes and heat transfer. This work has determined the thermal inactivation kinetics of Alicyclobacillus acidoterretris in a liquid model food, thus providing subsidies for thermal process studies and design. The A. acidoterretris thermal inactivation was determined through the three-neck flask method, and was well described according to a first order kinetics. The D85°C, D88°C, D92°C and D95°C values were 105.4 min, 2.75 min, 7.0 min and 2.3 min, respectively. The observed z-value was 6.1°C. Due to the lack of such data in literature, the obtained results contribute to future studies on food thermal processes.