2. Bacteriological Effects
Most non-spore-forming bacteria are inactivated at temperatures below 90 °C, although some thermoduric bacteria, e.g., some coryneforms, can survive heating at 90 °C for 10 min
[3]. However, the main focus of thermotolerant bacteria in milk is on the spore-forming bacteria. Smelt and Brul
[4] reported that the heat stability of bacterial spores ranges from <1 min at 90 °C for
Clostridium botulinum Type E to 3–4 min at 130 °C for
Geobacillus stearothermophilus.
The sporeformers relevant to milk can be categorized as psychrotrophic, mesophilic, and thermophilic
[5]. While these terms apply to the growth temperatures of the bacteria, the order of the heat resistance of their spores is roughly of the same order, i.e., psychrotrophic < mesophilic < thermophilic. Spores of psychrotrophic bacteria are most significant in ESL-milk which is processed at 125–140 °C for 1–10 s
[6], commonly around 127 °C for 5 s
[7] and stored under refrigeration. Therefore, spores that survive ESL heat treatment and can grow at low temperatures can cause spoilage of ESL milk. A heat treatment of, or equivalent to, 134 °C for 4 s inactivates these spores
[8]. Common psychrotrophic sporeformers are
Bacillus species such as
B. coagulans and
B. circulans but some strains of others, e.g.,
B. cereus and
Paenibacillus species, are also psychrotrophic.
B. cereus is a potential problem in ESL as some psychrotrophic strains are pathogenic
[8].
The majority of sporeformers that contaminate milk are mesophilic. They include mostly
Bacillus species such as
B. licheniformis,
B. subtilus,
B. pumilus and
B. megaterium. Their spores are inactivated by standard UHT treatments of 135–150 °C for 1–10 s
[6], commonly 138–140 °C for ~4 s. Thermophilic spores include highly-heat-resistant spores (HRS), some of which can survive UHT processing. HRS are mainly of
B. sporothermodurans and
G. stearothermophilus. Spores of the former have been reported to have decimal reduction values (
D-values) at 140 °C of ~5.0 s
[9][10] and require UHT holding conditions of 148 °C for 10 s or 150 °C for 6 s to achieve a reasonable level of inactivation of these spores in milk
[11]. In-container sterilization treatments of 110–120 °C for 10–20 min
[6] are the most intense heat treatments applied to milk. They are designed to inactivate all bacteria, including spores.
The bactericidal effect of a given thermal sterilizing process can be expressed as an
F0-value or a
B*-value.
F0 has traditionally been used for in-container (retort) sterilization and is based on a reference temperature of 121 °C (actually 121.11 °C or 250 °F) and a
z-value (
z-value is the increase in temperature required to cause a 10-fold decrease (1-log) in
D-value where
D-value is the time required to cause a 10-fold reduction (1-log) in the bacterial count) of 10 °C.
F0 of 1 is equivalent to heating at 121 °C for 1 min. The minimum heating conditions for producing a safe low-acid food has been arbitrarily established to be equivalent to
F0 of 2.6 (usually rounded up to 3.0); this is the “botulinum cook” which causes a 12-log reduction of spores of
C. botulinum, assuming a
D-value at 121 °C of 13 s
[12]. Most commercial retort processes of low-acid foods operate at
F0-values considerably in excess of 3.
Since the reference temperature for the
F0-value is outside the range used for UHT processing, an alternative index, the
B*-value was introduced.
B* is based on a reference temperature of 135 °C and a
z-value of 10.5 °C.
B* of 1 equates to heating at 135 °C for 10.1 s, (or equivalent conditions such as 145.5 °C for 1 s). These cause a 9-log reduction of thermophilic spores
[13] and are the recommended minimum conditions for UHT processing. Most UHT processes have
B*-values of >1; a survey of 23 Australian UHT plants revealed a range of
B*-values from 1.6 to 16.5
[14].
B* of 1 is approximately equivalent to
F0 of 4. Therefore, the recommended minimum conditions for UHT processing are more severe than those for in-container sterilization and represent a considerable food safety margin in terms of inactivating
C. botulinum.
Table 1 shows the effects on a range of parameters, including B* and F0, of heating at 90–150 °C for 10 s. It demonstrates clearly that heating at 90–110 °C has little or no effect on F0 and B*. In terms of UHT processing, the normal pre-heat section, which usually operates at 90–95 °C for 30–120 s, and the later cooling stage makes no contribution to these parameters. Conversely, it shows that heating at 140 °C for 10 s exceeds the recommended minimum values for B* and F0. Table 1 also shows the effect of a typical in-container sterilization process on F0 and B* and shows the F0-value (7.76) to be in excess of the accepted minimum of 3.0.