title: [Heat treatment for the control of Bacillus cereus spores in foods].
abstract: The effect of heat treatments on food products related to soybean curd contaminated with Bacillus cereus spores was investigated for the purpose of preventing food-poisoning outbreaks by B. cereus. In the case of B. cereus strains isolated from foods, heating foods inoculated with the spores for 20 min at 70 degrees C, 5 min at 75 degrees C, 2 min at 100 degrees C, or 10 sec with a microwave oven plus reheating after standing for 2 hr at 25 degrees C reduced the number of surviving cells within the foods to less than one-hundredth. In the case of a heat-resistant strain isolated from a food poisoning outbreak, heating for 20 min at 70 degrees C plus reheating after standing for 1.5-2 hr at 35 degrees C, heating for 10 min at 75 degrees C plus reheating after standing for 1.5-2 hr at 35 degrees C, or heating for 2 min at 100 degrees C plus reheating after standing for 4 hr at 25 degrees C was effective. There was not much difference between the flavor components in foods with and without heat treatment at 70 degrees C, as analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These results indicate that these heat treatments are available to control B. cereus spores, without affecting the sensory quality of the foods.
authors.affiliation: Nisshin Seifun Group Inc., Research Center for Basic Science: 5-3-1, Tsurugaoka, Oi-machi, Iruma-gun, Saitama 356-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Motoi
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hara-Kudo
mesh_terms: D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000502:physiology*; D005504:Food Analysis; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006358:Hot Temperature; D045730:Soy Foods; D013171:Spores, Bacterial