title: A simplified approach for modelling the bacterial growth/no growth boundary.
abstract: A simplified growth/no growth (G/NG) model, conceptually derived from the Gamma model and making direct and explicit use of growth limits of bacteria through a normalization constant (η), was proposed. The η value, which quantifies the product of the cardinal optimal distances for growth probability, is a species-independent constant. This is of importance when experimental data is missing or insufficient. The simplified G/NG model was developed including the effect of temperature, pH and water activity, and was expanded incorporating the preservative effects. As a practical application, the model was investigated for its ability to describe published data. The successful validation of the simplified G/NG model is discussed in regard to its potential applicability as a first estimate method for the development of safe food products.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences and Technology, via del Cotonificio 108, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy. pierluigi.polese@uniud.it
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Polese
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Del Torre
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spaziani
authors.forename: Mara Lucia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stecchini
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008954:Models, Biological; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005520:Food Preservatives; D014867:Water