FACTORS AFFECTING ■Nutrients

MICROBIAL GROWTH IN
■pH
FOODS
■Temperature
Why is food considered to be a great
medium to support microbial ■Aeration
growth?
Nutrients
■Food is a good medium that
provides different nutrients and -Nutrients are necessary for
micronutrients to support microbial microbial growth and play a vital
growth at optimum growth role in the proper cultivation of
conditions. microorganisms in the laboratory
and for proper growth in their
–Food is comprised of different natural environments.
ingredients such as
:–Carbohydrates
-The types of nutrients that are
–Proteins required include those that supply
energy, carbon and additional
–Fats
necessary materials. The nutrients
Nutrients used to propagate growth are
organism -specific, based on their
■What are the general growth
cellular and metabolic processes.
requirements needed by
microorganisms:
– Nutrition Carbon sources : is require for
microbial growth
■Carbon source
Nitrogen sources: Nitrogen is a
■Nitrogen Source
major components of proteins,
■Sulfur source nucleic acids, and other compounds
accounting for approximately 5% of
■Phosphorus source the dry weight of a typical bacterial
■Micronutrients cell.

–Trace elements Sulfur source: it forms part of the

structure of several coenzymes and
–Growth Factors is found in the cysteinyl and
methionyl sidechains of proteins.
–Environmental Factors:
Phosphorus source: Phosphate is
required as a component of ATP,
nucleic acids, and such coenzymes
as NAD, NADP, and Flavin s.

Environmental Factors: pH

■ Most microorganisms depend on

the pH of their environment to grow
and survive.

Neutrophiles – organisms grow best

at pH 6.0 – 8.0

Acidophiles – organisms grow best

at pH as low as 3.0.

Alkaliphiles – organisms having

optima as high as pH10.5.

■ If microorganisms exposed in
different pH, they regulate their
internal pH by pumping protons in
or out of their cell

Environmental Factors:
Temperature
■ Different microbial species vary Facultative anaerobes - are
widely on organisms that
their optimal temperatures for thrive in the presence of oxygen but
growth. also grow
in its absence by relying on
fermentation or
anaerobic respiration, if there is a
suitable
electron acceptor other than oxygen
and the
organism is able to perform
anaerobic
respiration.
Environmental Factors: Aeration
■ Many microorganisms can be
found in aerobic and
anaerobic environments. Thus,
different
microorganisms have their own
oxygen
requirement to support their growth.
Obligate aerobes – bacteria that Aerotolerant anaerobes – they can
cannot grow
tolerate the presence of oxygen in
without an abundant supply of their
oxygen.
culture environment. Also, they
Obligate anaerobes – bacteria that
cannot capable of producing ATP by

grown or culture in the presence of fermentation.

oxygen.
Microaerophiles - bacteria that
require a minimum level of oxygen
for growth, about 1%–10%, well
below the 21% found in the
atmosphere.
Environmental Factors: Osmotic
Pressure
■ Some microorganism required
higher concentrations of salts and
sugars to support their growth.
Halophiles – require moderate to
high concentration of salt in their Intrinsic & Extrinsic Parameters
culture medium. of Foods
Extreme or Obligate halophiles – This are factors influencing the
requires very high concentrations of growth of microorganisms in foods.
salt (20 to 30%)
– Intrinsic Parameters
Facultative halophiles – do not
require high concentration of salt to ■ pH
grow. But they can tolerate 2% or ■ Moisture Content
more
■ Oxidative-reduction
Osmophilic – microorganisms Potential
require high concentration of
osmotic pressure in their culture ■ Nutrient Content
environment.
■ Antimicrobial
Constituents
■ Biological Structures

This are factors influencing the

growth of microorganisms in foods.

– Extrinsic Parameters

■ Temperature of storage

■ % Relative Humidity of the

environment
 ■ Presence and mold and yeast spoilage, and this is
concentrations of gases due to the capacity of

■ Presence and activities of these organisms to grow at pH

other microorganisms values.

pH or Power of Hydrogen Ion

■ It has been well established that
most microorganisms grow best at
pH values around 7 . 0 ( 6 . 6 – 7 .
5), whereas few grow below 4 . 0 .
Bacteria tend to be more fastidious
in their relationships to pH than
molds and yeasts, with the
pathogenic bacteria being the most
fastidious .

■ It is a common observation that

fruits generally undergo
■ Although acidic pH values are of
greater use in inhibiting
microorganisms, alkaline values in
the range of pH 12–13 are known to
be destructive, at least to some
bacteria. For example, the use of
CaOH2 to produce pH values in this
range has been shown to be
destructive to Listeria
monocytogenes and other foodborne
pathogens on some fresh foods.
pH or Power of Hydrogen Ion:
Effects
-Adverse pH affects at least
two aspects of
a respiring microbial cell:
functioning
of its enzymes and the transport of
nutrients into the cell.
-The cytoplasmic membrane
of
microorganisms is relatively
impermeable
to H+ and OH−
ions. Their concentration in
the cytoplasm therefore probably
remains
reasonably constant despite wide
variations that may occur in the pH
of the
surrounding medium.
-When microorganisms are
placed in environments
below or above neutrality, their
ability to proliferate
depends on their ability to bring the
environmental
pH to a more optimum value or
range. When placed
in acid environments, the cells must
either keep H+
from entering or expel H+ ions as
rapidly as they
the enter. Such key cellular compounds
as DNA and
ATP require neutrality.
-When most microorganisms
grow in acid media,
their metabolic activity results in the
medium or
substrate becoming less acidic,
whereas those that
grow in high pH environments tend
to effect a
lowering of pH.
Moisture Content
■ One of the oldest methods of
preserving foods is drying or
desiccation ; precisely how this
method came to be used is not
known
.■ The preservation of foods by
drying is a direct consequence of
removal or binding of moisture,
without which microorganisms do
not grow. It is now generally
accepted that the water requirements
of microorganisms should be
described in terms of the water
activity (aw) in the environment.

. bacteria do not grow below aw =
Moisture Content
-The water activity (aw) of
most fresh foods is above 0.99. The
minimum values reported for the
growth of some microorganisms in
foods are presented in Table 3–5
-In general, bacteria require
higher values of aw for growth than
fungi, with Gram-negative bacteria
having higher requirements than
Gram positives. Most spoilage
0.91, whereas spoilage
molds can grow as low as 0.80. With
respect to food-poisoning bacteria,
Staphylococcus aureus can grow as
low as 0.86, whereas Clostridium
botulinum does not grow below 0.94
-The general effect of
lowering aw below
optimum is to increase the length of
the lag phase of growth and to
decrease the growth rate and size of
final population.
-This effect may be expected
to result from
adverse influences of lowered water
on all
metabolic activities because all
chemical
reactions of cells require an aqueous
environment.
-It must be kept in mind,
however, that aw
is influenced by other environmental
parameters such as pH, temperature
of growth, and Eh.
Oxidation–Reduction Potential
The O/R potential of a
substrate may be defined generally
as the ease with which the substrate
loses or gains electrons. When an
element or compound loses
electrons, the substrate is oxidized,
whereas a substrate that gains
electrons becomes reduced:
■ Oxidation may also be achieved
by the addition of oxygen, as
illustrated in the following reaction:
2Cu + O2 → 2CuO
■ Therefore, a substance that readily
gives up electrons is a good reducing
agent, and one that readily takes up
electrons is a good oxidizing agent.
When electrons are transferred from
one compound to another, a
potential difference is created
between the two compounds
-This difference may be
measured by use of an appropriate
instrument, and expressed as
millivolts (mV).
-The more highly oxidized a
substance, the more positive will be
its electrical potential; the more
highly reduced a substance, the more
negative will be its electrical
potential.
-When the concentration of
oxidant and reductant is equal, a
zero electrical potential exists. The
O/R potential of a system is
expressed by the symbol Eh.
The O/R potential of a food is
determined by the following: – The
characteristic O/R potential of the
original food.
– The poising capacity; that
is, the resistance to change in
potential of the food.
– The oxygen tension of the
atmosphere about the food.
– The access that the
atmosphere has to the food
With regard to the Eh of
foods, plant foods, especially plant
juices, tend to have Eh values of
from +300 to 400 mV. It is not
surprising to find that aerobic
bacteria and molds are the common
cause of spoilage of products of this
type.
Solid meats have Eh values
of around −200 mV; in minced
meats, the Eh is generally around
200 mV.

Cheeses of various types
have been reported to have Eh
values on the negative side, from
−20 to around −200 mV.
Microorganisms affect the
Eh of their environments during
growth just as they do pH. This is
true especially of aerobes, which can
lower the Eh of their environment
while anaerobes cannot.
As aerobes grow, O2 in the
medium is depleted, resulting in the
lowering of Eh. Growth is not
slowed, however, as much as might
be expected due to the ability of
cells to make use of O2-donating or
hydrogen-accepting substances in
the medium.
The result is that the
medium becomes poorer in
oxidizing and richer in reducing
substances.
Nutrient Content
■ In order to grow and
function normally, the
microorganisms of importance in
foods require the following:
– Water
– source of energy
– source of nitrogen
– vitamins and related
growth factors
– minerals
Antimicrobial Constituents
■ The stability of some
foods against attack by
microorganisms is due to the
presence of certain naturally
occurring substances that possess
and express antimicrobial activity.
Some plant species are known to
contain essential oils that possess
antimicrobial activity.
■ Among these essential oils
are
– eugenol in cloves
– allicin in garlic
– cinnamic aldehyde and
eugenol in cinnamon
– allyl isothiocyanate in
mustard
– eugenol and thymol in
sage
– carvacrol (isothymol) and
thymol in oregano
Biological Structure
■ The natural covering of some
foods provides excellent protection
against the entry and subsequent
damage by spoilage organisms.
■ In this category are such structures
as the
– testa of seeds
– the outer covering of fruits
– the shell of nuts
– the hide of animals, and;
– the shells of eggs
.
Temperature of Storage
■ Microorganisms,
individually and as a group, grow
over a very wide range of
temperatures.
 ■ Therefore, it is well to
consider at this point the temperature
growth ranges for organisms of
importance in foods as an aid in
selecting the proper temperature for
the
storage of different types of foods
The lowest temperature at
which a microorganism has been
reported to grow is
−34◦C; the highest is somewhere in
excess of 100◦C. It is customary to
place
microorganisms into three groups
based on their temperature
requirements for
growth.
Those organisms that grow
well at or below 7◦C and have their
optimum between
20◦C and 30◦C are referred to as
psychrotrophs.
Those that grow well
between 20◦C and 45◦C with optima
between 30◦C and
40◦C are referred to as mesophiles,
whereas those that grow well at and
above
45◦C with optima between 55◦C and
65◦C are referred to as thermophiles.
Relative Humidity
■ The RH of the storage
environment is important both from
the standpoint of aw within foods
and the growth of microorganisms at
the surfaces.
■ When the aw of a food is
set at 0.60, it is important that this
food be stored under conditions of
RH that do not allow the food to
pick up moisture from the air and
thereby increase its own surface and
subsurface aw to a point where
microbial growth can occur.
■ When foods with low aw
values are placed in
environments of high RH, the foods
pick up moisture until equilibrium
has been established.
■ Likewise, foods with a
high aw lose moisture when placed
in an environment of low RH. There
is a relationship between RH and
temperature that should be borne in
mind in selecting proper storage
environments for foods.
■ In general, the higher the
temperature, the lower the RH, and
vice versa.
Presence and Concentration of
Gases in the Environment
■ Carbon dioxide (CO2) is
the single most important
atmospheric gas that is used to
control microorganisms in foods.
■ It along with O2 are the
two most important gases in
modified atmosphere packaged
(MAP) foods.
Presence and Concentration of
Gases in the Environment
 Ozone (O3) is the other
atmospheric
gas that has antimicrobial properties,
and it has been tried over a number
of decades as an agent to extend the
shelf life of certain foods. It has
been shown to be effective against a
variety of microorganisms,9 but
because it is a strong oxidizing
agent, it should not be used on high
lipid-content foods since it would
cause an increase in rancidity.

Presence and Activities of Other

Microorganisms
Some foodborne organisms produce
substances that are
either inhibitory or lethal to others;
these include antibiotics,
bacteriocins, hydrogen peroxide, and
organic acids.