THE FATE OF SALMONELLA-ENTERITIDIS PT4 IN HOME-MADE MAYONNAISE PREPARED FROM ARTIFICIALLY INOCULATED EGGS

A total of 96 eggs were used to study the fate of Salmonella enteritid is in home-made mayonnaise prepared from artificially infected eggs an d acidulated with acetic or citric acid. The inoculated eggs were stor ed for 10 days at 20-degrees-C post-inoculation of the air cell before preparation of the mayonnaise. From the results it was evident that t he larger the infection of the egg, the longer the viable organisms pe rsisted in the mayonnaise prepared thereform. In mayonnaise prepared f rom the yolks of eggs artificially contaminated with S. enteritidis an d with acetic acid as the acidulant, the fate of the organisms was bot h dose-and temperature-dependent. Storage at low temperatures protecte d the salmonellas against the effects of the acid. These principles di d not apply to mayonnaise prepared from artificially contaminated eggs with lemon juice as the acidulant. In this case the fate of S. enteri tidis appeared to be largely independent of temperature, but dependent upon inoculum size.