Authors: Song, Yoon S.; Hargraves, Walter A.

Source: Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 61, Number 12, December 1998 , pp. 1644-1648(5)

Publisher: International Association for Food Protection

Abstract:

Packages were evaluated for leaks by determining microbial penetration through microchannels as a function of test organism concentration, location in a retort, and microchannel diameter and length. A flexible pouch was used in an in situ immersion biotest coupled with a state-of-the-art retort. Microchannel diameters of 10 to 661 μm with 3- and 6-mm lengths were created by placing tungsten wires in vacuum heat-sealed flexible pouches. After removing the wires, these pouches were subsequently heat processed under pressure. They were then biotested in cooling water containing 10³ and 10⁶ CFU of motile Enterobacter aerogenes per ml for 30 min and were dried immediately after manual unloading. After incubation at 37°C for 3 days, they were visually examined for contamination. The high-temperature retorting process was shown to decrease microchannel diameters by an average of 20%. Generally, the smaller the microchannel diameter, the greater the percent shrinkage. Statistical analysis of the biotesting data showed that microchannel diameter and length had strong effects on microbial penetration (P < 0.01). Microbial concentration had a borderline significant effect (P < 0.05), but the effect of package location in the retort was not significant. At conservative conditions, such as a 3-mm microchannel length and a cooling water contamination level of 10⁶ CFU/mI, the selected microorganism can penetrate microchannels with diameters as small as 7 μm. However, the minimum microchannel diameter for penetration could be as large as 46 μm at practical conditions of 6-mm microchannellength and contamination levels of 10³ CFU/ml.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Division of Food Processing and Packaging, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, National Center for Food Safety and Technology, 6502 South Archer Road, Summit-Argo, Illinois 60501, USA

Publication date: 1998-12-01

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