Review of studies on the thermal resistance of salmonellae

Heat resistance data for different serotypes of Salmonella enterica in diff erent food products and laboratory media are reviewed. From all D-values re ported, the highest heat resistance of Salmonella was in liquid eggs and li quid egg yolks. The equation from a line drawn through the highest D-values , and above all values reported, was log D-value = 11.7 - 0.188T degrees C. From this equation, the calculated z-value was 5.3 degrees C (9.5 degrees F), and a process at 71 degrees C (160 degrees F) will require 1.2 s to ina ctivate 1 log of Salmonella cells. This calculation did not include data th at evaluated the heat resistance after stress conditions or data for Salmon ella Senftenberg. The heat resistance of Salmonella is highly influenced by the strain tested, the type of experiment (log reduction versus end-point) , culture conditions prior to the experiment, heating menstruum, and recove ry conditions. Heat resistance data for Salmonella are still nonexistent or scarce in chicken meat, fruit juices, and aquacultured fish.