FNSC3180

Food microbiology

Dr. Charis LI
School of Life Science, CUHK
LECTURE TWO
FACTORS AFFECT MICROBES
GROWTH
 Factors affecting microbial
Growth
Intrinsic factors:
 factors inherent to the food itself:
1. water activity
2. pH
3. Oxidation –reduction potential
4. Nutrient Content
5. Antimicrobial constituents
6. Biological structure
What is Water activity (Aw)?

Water activity
Water activity (Aw)

VS

VS
 Water activity (Aw)
availability of the water
 Free/unbound water
 Not equal to total amount of water

Not available/ bound water

 immobilized by capillary action
• Inter-molecular forces
– With other solutes

chemically bound to food molecules

• In gel/ crystals
• As parts of food molecules
Food has the
highest water
activity …
 Water activity (Aw)

In close system: (intrinsic)

In open system: (extrinsic)

 Water activity (Aw)
Water activity in the food is not a fixed
value
 Aw of pure water =1 (greatest)
Water migration
 Change with storage condition (ERH)
 From high Aw to low Aw
• e.g. caking of powder, softening of biscuits,
hardening of dried fruit
 Water activity (Aw)
A few microbes might be able to grow below 0.8, but no
pathogens
 Halophiles
• Able to grow in the presence of high concentrations of salt
 Obligate halophiles
• Cannot grow in the absence of high salt
 Facultative halophiles
• Can tolerate high salt concentration but do not require it
for growth
 Osmophiles
• Able to grow in the presence of high concentration of
unionized organic compounds e.g. sugar
 Xerophiles
• Able to grow on dry foods
 Water activity (Aw)
Build up osmotic pressure!!!

 Most organism grow best at Aw of about 0.99

1. Gram positive bacteria:
 Protected by cell wall
2. Gram negative bacteria:
 accumulating compatible solutes intracellularly
 Excrete the extra water in vacuole
Water activity (Aw)
Water activity can be lowered
by…
 pH
The pH value of a food is a log scale
measurement of its acidity
pH = -log [H+ ]
1 scale equal to 10 fold difference
 pH
Henderson Hasselbach equation
Hydrogen ions- released by organic acid
a low pH value
=
a low / high acidity?
 pH range of the microbes:
 Optimum pH
 growth of the microorganism is maximal
 most bacteria have optimal at pH 6.8 to 7.2
 minimum pH:4.0-4.5
 maximum between 8.0-9.0

 Maintain the stable pH range by:

 Proton pump (require energy)
 Less energy can be spent on the growth

 Growth slow down

 One exceptional case  ???

How does acid inhibit the
growth?
 pH
 Antimicrobial effects of acids :
 increases with increase in length of carbon chains

 pKa value of organic acids

 At pH value below or above the optimum：

 Growth rate decrease
 Maximum number of cells produced drops

 Length of lag phase increases length of stationary

phase shortens
 Death rate increases
pH values of some food products
Oxidation –reduction potential
Redox potential (Eh):
a transfer of electrons between atoms or
molecules
the ability of a food to react with oxygen
 high positive potential , more air present
• More air/ oxygen inside the food item
 Oxygen in food system
• Intrinsic factor: redox potential
 Oxygen in the environment
• Extrinsic factor: gaseous atmosphere
 High / Low redox potential?

parmasan cheese
Swiss cheese

Cooked meat Raw meat minced meat

Redox potential of foods
Oxidation –reduction potential
 Actual redox of a food depends on:
 The manner in which the food is processed

• e.g. mixing, blending, mince

 The growth of microbes
• using up oxygen, generate reducing compounds
 Structure of food structure
• Density
• Spongy structure
 Types and concentration of reducing
substances in the food
• Formic acid, sulfite compounds
 Antimicrobial constituents
Examples:
Antioxidants
 Allicin in garlic, polyphenols in green and black
teas
Lysozyme in cow’s milk and egg
 hydrolysis of glycosidic linkages in
peptidoglycan
 Mainly affect the Gram positive bacteria

 why????
 Biological structure
Develop protective biological structure
Outer skin of vegetables and fruits
slows microbial growth
 low water activity
 No nutrients

 antimicrobial compounds
• short chain fatty acid, phenolic compounds
Grinding and mixing
 increase surface area and redox potential
Which one would be spoilt
easily???

Fruit VS Fruit Juice

Cake Cookies
 Factors affecting microbial
Growth
Extrinsic factors:
 factors inherent to the environment
1. Relative humidity
2. Gaseous environment/Atmosphere
3. pH???
4. Temperature
5. Microbial interaction
 Temperature
1. Psychrophiles
 Grow under zero degree Celsius
2. Psychrotrophs
 food that are stored in the cool condition
3. Mesophiles (enterobacteria)
 optimum growth temperature close to 37oC
Different cardinal temperature!
4. Thermophiles
 spore forming bacteria
5. Hyperthermophiles
 Seldom exist in food
How can psychrophiles survive
at low temperature?
Homeoviscous adaptation
low temperature inhibits microbial
growth
 Change in membrane structure
Make adaptation in membrane,
decreasing the melting point, make it
keep fluidize
unsaturated fatty acid &
shorter chain fatty acids
Homeoviscous adaptation
 Danger Zone
 pathogens grows
between 4 to 60
Hazard VS Risk
 Hazard: potential to
cause harm
 Risk : probability that the
hazard will lead to injury
 E.g.
• ground beef hazard
 make it well done no risk
So food stored in
• Eat raw high risk
danger zone is
hazardous or high Risk?
 Relative humidity

 open system
 Gaseous atmosphere
oxygen
Aerobes VS anaerobes
 Need/ do not need O2 to produce energy to
grow
Microaerophilic
 requiresome oxygen, but not high level,
• e.g. Campylobacter
Obligate anaerobes:
 only grow in absence of O2
 e.g. C.botulinum
 Gaseous atmosphere
oxygen
Facultative organisms:
 can grow both in presence or absence of O2
Facultative anaerobes:
 do not metabolize oxygen but will grow in presence
of oxygen
 e.g. Streptococci

Facultative aerobes:
 can grow in absence of oxygen , but when there is
oxygen, they will use it in their metabolism
 e.g. Escherichia coli
 Gaseous atmosphere
oxygen
Facultative anaerobes
Obligated aerobes
Obligated anaerobes Microaerophilic
 Microbial interaction
Mixed flora of microorganisms in food :
 aerobes, anaerobes, obligatory and
facultative aerobes and anaerobes
 Competitive with each other

 Dominate, highest growth rate

 e.g. mould VS bacteria

Factors that influence the growth of

microorganisms
 Affect competitive power of dominated type
How can we
control on the
microbial growth?
 Control of bacterial growth
 Heat treatment
 cooking, canning, bottling, sterilizing, pasteurising
and Ultra Heat Treatment (UHT)
 Low temperature
 freezing and refrigeration
 Drying (dehydrating)
 fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, soup
 Chemical preservation
 curing, salting, pickling
 Vacuum sealing /packing
 Hurdle Concept
Hurdles:
 refer to factors which interrupt with the
growth of microorganism
 a combination on controlling different
factors
 limiting aw <0.85 and pH < 4.6
• prevents the growth of foodborne pathogens
 More hurdle  food safety
 More hurdle  higher cost
 Potential Hurdles for use:
Physical hurdles Microbial derived hurdles

Physico-chemical hurdle Miscellaneous hurdles

 Any ideas of the types of
hurdles used?

Sterilization of canned Cheese in vaccum pack

pickled cucumber
 The End

Thank you for your

attention!
 MCQ 1
Which of the following has high water
activity?
A. Biscuit
B. Jam
C. Soft candies
D. Bread
 MCQ 2
 Which of the following about low acid food is
not true?
A. Low acid food is the food with the pH less
than 4.6
B. The hydrogen ions released from the acid is
a reducing agent that inhibit the grow
C. It just slows down the growth but does not kill
the bacteria
D. Acetic acid has a weak anti-microbial effect
because it just contains two carbons in the
chain length.
 MCQ 3
The sulfite compound is used as the
chemical preservatives, to inhibit the
microbial growth because ____
A. It is a good antioxidant
B. It forms the sulfur di-linkage to block
the entry of microbes
C. It is a good reducing agent
D. It lowers the pH of the food
 MCQ 4
Which of the following groups of bacteria
seldom found in our food?
A. Psychrophiles
B. Mesophiles
C. Thermophiles
D. Hyperthermophiles
 MCQ 5
 In the homeoviscous adaptation, Which of the
following changes would be resulted?
A. More saturated fatty acid form on the
membrane
B. Melting point increases
C. The intermolecular force between the fatty
acids decreases
D. The fatty acids in the membrane just pack
tightly together regularly
 MCQ 6
 Why the mold is not the dominate types of
microbes found on the meat?
A. The competitive power of bacteria is high
B. The pH is not suitable for the mold to grow
on the meat
C. The amino acids are not broken down in
meat, it is difficult to support on the mold
growth
D. Mold needs a smooth surface to grow on