FACTORS AFFECTING

THE GROWTH OF
BACTERIA
BY JOSEPH GEORGE
WHAT IS BACTERIA ?
• Microscopic, single-celled organisms that exist in
their millions, in every environment, both inside and
outside other organisms.
• Classified into five groups according to their basic
shapes:
• Spherical (cocci),
• Rod (bacilli),
• Spiral (spirilla),
• Comma (vibrios)
• Corkscrew (spirochaetes).
• They can exist as single cells, in pairs, chains or
clusters
 WHERE IS BACTERIA
FOUND ?
• Found in every habitat on Earth: soil, rock,
oceans and even arctic snow.
• Bacterial cells can be found lining the digestive
system. Some bacteria live in the soil or on dead
plant matter where they play an important role in
the cycling of nutrients.
• Some types cause food spoilage and crop
damage but others are incredibly useful in the
production of fermented foods such as yoghurt
and soy sauce.
• Relatively few bacteria are parasites or
pathogens that cause disease in animals and
plants.
 FACTORS AFFECTING
GROWTH OF BACTERIA
INTRINSIC FACTORS

The internal self-parameters of plant and animal tissues are referred to as intrinsic
factors. These factors include:
 NUTRIENT
CONCENTRATION

• If culture media is rich in growth promoting

substance, growth of bacteria occurs faster.
• Therefore, food which are rich in nutrients or
which contain all essential nutrients (e.g. meat,
milk is spoiled faster by microbes).
• On the other hand, food which lack particular
nutrients or growth factors or are poor in nutrients
(e.g. flour, cereals etc) are microbiologically more
stable with respect to nutrients requirement.
 pH LEVEL
• pH affects the ionic properties of
bacterial cell so it affects the
growth of bacteria.
• Most of the bacteria grow at
neutral pH (60.5-7.5). However
there are certain bacteria that
grow best at acidic or basic pH.
• Relationship between pH and
bacterial growth is given in figure
.
 MOISTURE CONTENT

• Water is the most essential factor for bacterial growth.

• Available water in the culture media determines the rate of metabolic and physiological activities of
bacteria.
• Sugar, salts and other substances are dissolved in water and are made available for bacteria.
• Water requirement of microbes in food is expressed in terms of water activity or available water (Aw.)
• Some important group of food and their Aw value includes:
• 0.98 to above- Fresh meat, shell fish, fresh vegetable etc.
• 0.93 to 0.98- Bread, tomato paste, evaporated milk.
• 0.60 to 0.85- flour, jam, jellies etc.
• 0.85 to 0.93- sweetened condensed milk
• Below 0.60- chocolate, honey, biscuits and confectionery products.
 ANTIMICROBIAL
CONSTITUENTS
• Some foods contain various antimicrobial components
that inhibit growth of many micro-organism.
• Certain developed antimicrobial constituents include
ethanol present in alcoholic beverages and propionic
acid present in cheese that inhibit growth of mold.
• In some food antimicrobial constituents are present
naturally such as :
• Eugenol in cloves
• Allicin in garlic
• Cinnamic aldehyde in cinnamon
• Curcumin in turmeric
• Furthermore, some plant products like tea and coffee
contain caffein, caffeic acid etc which are antimicrobial.
BIOLOGICAL
STRUCTURE
• Some foods have natural covering on their
surface that prevent entry of spoilage organisms
into inner tissue of food and prevent microbial
spoilage.
• Some such natural covering of some food
includes shell of egg, skin of fruits, testa of seed,
hide of animal etc.
• Nowadays, fruits are covered by artificial
covering to protect them from microbial
spoilage.
EXTRINSIC FACTORS

The factors which are controlled through external conditions are referred to as
extrinsic factors.
These factors include:
 TEMPERATURE
• Temperature affects the growth of bacteria by
various ways.
• There is no growth below minimum and above
maximum temperature.
• Ideal temperature for growth is stated to be
37°C.
• Below minimum temperature(5°C) cell
membrane solidifies and become stiff to
transport nutrients into the cell, hence no
growth occurs.
• Above maximum temperature (60°C), cellular
proteins and enzymes denatures, so the
bacterial growth ceases.
 Composition of gases in storage
environment:

• Composition and concentration of gases in storage

environment affects growth and activity .
• Usually concentration of gases like CO2, O3, and N2
is increased in storage environment of food.
• CO2 is competitive inhibitor of ethylene. Therefore,
CO2 prevents ripening and softening of fruit is
prevented, spoilage of fruit by mold can be blocked.
• Increased concentration of CO2 is also used for
preservation of meat.
Relative humidity

• Relative humidity of storage environment

that affects moisture content (Aw value) of
food.
• When relatively moist food is placed in dry
environment, food losses water and its Aw
value decreases.
• Similarly, when relative dry food is placed in
humid atmosphere food absorbs moisture and
its Aw value increases.
• Relative humidity of storage atmosphere
mainly affects surface of food. Therefore,
foods that undergo surface spoilage can be
controlled by controlling humidity of storage
environment.
IMPLICIT FACTORS

The third factor that is important in determining the nature of microbial growth in
food is referred to as implicit factors.
This factor defines the properties of the organisms themselves and how they
respond to such environments.
 FOOD PROCESSING

• During the processing of foods, microorganisms

can be subjected to various physical or chemical
stresses.
• Such processing factors are heat, freezing, drying,
osmotic effects, irradiation, and various chemicals.
• Heating helps to reduce the microbial level in food
by damaging the cytoplasmic membrane, alters
metabolic and enzymatic activities.
• Freezing reduces the growth of microbes by
exhibiting the inhibitory effect of reduced pH and
increase of Aw.
• Drying reduces microbial growth as it causes
metabolic injuries that impair the proliferation of
the cells.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

• https://microbenotes.com/factors-affecting-the-growth-
of-microorganisms-in-food/
• https://www.onlinebiologynotes.com/factor-affecting-gr
owth-of-microorganisms-in-food/
• https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matt
ers/what-is-microbiology/bacteria.html
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157973
THANK YOU