Behavior of avirulent yersinia pestis in liquid whole egg as affected by storage temperature, antimicrobials and thermal pasteurization

Abstract

Yersinia spp. are psychrotrophic bacteria capable of growth at temperatures as low as - 2C, known to contaminate shell eggs and liquid eggs in the U.S.A. and South America. A study was performed to determine the thermal sensitivity of avirulent Yersinia pestis in liquid whole egg (LWE), evaluate the growth pattern of the bacterium in LWE at temperatures of 4-22C and assess the ability of 10 antimicrobial compounds to inhibit the growth of attenuated Y. pestis in LWE. The estimated decimal reduction values of avirulent Y. pestis in LWE at 54C (D54) were 1.39-1.58 min, and D60 values were 13.8 and 11.4 s by the addition of 0 and 965 IU of nisin (MP Biomedicals, LLC, Solon, OH), respectively. Low molecular weight chitosan (0.5%) and an activated lactoperoxidase system (2.18 U/mL) were ineffective at inhibiting growth of Y. pestis, while 500 IU/mL of nisin inhibited populations by up to 1 log cfu/mL at 4, 10 and 15C when compared with the control. Allyl isothiocyanate, diacetyl, diethyl dicarbonate, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, methylparaben, monolaurin and benzoyl peroxide inhibited the growth of attenuated Y. pestis when added at high levels. Published 2010. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.