Variation in resistance of natural isolates of Staphylococcus aureus to heat, pulsed electric field and ultrasound under pressure.
OBJECTIVE
To study and compare the resistance of 15 Staphylococcus aureus isolates to heat, pulsed electric field (PEF) and ultrasound (UW) under pressure (manosonication, MS).


RESULTS
Survival curves to heat (58 degrees C), to PEF (22 kV cm(-1), 2 micros square wave pulses) and to UW under pressure (117 microm, 20 kHz, 200 kPa) were obtained and inactivation parameters (decimal reduction times for heat and UW under pressure, and b-values for PEF) were calculated. A wide resistance variation to heat treatment, but not to PEF and MS, was observed amongst the 15 strains.


CONCLUSIONS
There was no relationship between the resistances to the three physical agents studied. Staphylococcus aureus was relatively resistant to MS but sensitive to PEF. Heat resistance varied with strain and was positively correlated to carotenoid pigment content.


CONCLUSIONS
Results would help in defining safe food preservation processes. Care should be taken to choose the most adequate strain of S. aureus to model food preservation processing.
Rodríguez-Calleja
J M
JM
Tecnología de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria de Zaragoza, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
Cebrián
G
G
Condón
S
S
Mañas
P
P
D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis; D003470:Culture Media; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D011312:Pressure; D013010:Sonication; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development*
D003470:Culture Media; D002338:Carotenoids