title: Evaluation of indirect impedance for measuring microbial growth in complex food matrices.
abstract: The suitability of indirect impedance to accurately measure microbial growth in real food matrices was investigated. A variety of semi-solid and liquid food products were inoculated with Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteriditis, Candida tropicalis or Zygosaccharomyces rouxii and CO2 production was monitored using a conductimetric (Don Whitely R.A.B.I.T.) system. The majority (80%) of food and microbe combinations produced a detectable growth signal. The linearity of conductance responses in selected food products was investigated and a good correlation (R(2) ≥ 0.84) was observed between inoculum levels and times to detection. Specific growth rate estimations from the data were sufficiently accurate for predictive modeling in some cases. This initial evaluation of the suitability of indirect impedance to generate microbial growth data in complex food matrices indicates significant potential for the technology as an alternative to plating methods.
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Centre, Nestec Ltd., Vers-Chez-Les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Centre, Nestec Ltd., Vers-Chez-Les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Centre, Nestec Ltd., Vers-Chez-Les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bravo Almeida
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Centre, Nestec Ltd., Vers-Chez-Les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Centre, Nestec Ltd., Vers-Chez-Les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iversen
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Centre, Nestec Ltd., Vers-Chez-Les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland. Electronic address: michaeljohn.callanan@rdls.nestle.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Callanan
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000379:methods*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D017097:Electric Impedance; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D050296:Microbial Viability
keywords: Conductance; Food; Growth; Impedance; Predictive