Temperature and water activity minima for growth of spoilage moulds from meat |
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Authors: | PD Lowry CO Gill |
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Institution: | Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand (Inc.), P.O. Box 617, Hamilton, New Zealand |
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Abstract: | L owry , P.D. & G ill , C.O. 1984. Temperature and water activity minima for growth of spoilage moulds from meat. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 56 , 193–199. Five species of fungi were isolated from mould spoilage on meat other than black spot. 'White spot' colonies yielded Chrysosporium pannorum or an Acremonium sp .; 'whiskers' colonies yielded Thamnidium elegans or Mucor racemosus , and blue-green colonies yielded Penicillium corylophilum. Chrysosporium pannorum was moderately xerotolerant with a minimum growth temperature of — 5 C. The Acremonium sp. and P. corylophilum showed a similar level of xerotolerance but had a minimum growth temperature of — 2 C. Mucor racemosus was no more xerotolerant than many spoilage bacteria and did not grow below - 1 C, but grew rapidly at 3 C and above. Thamnidium elegans grew at — 7 C on supercooled medium and an intrinsic minimum growth temperature of — 10 C was indicated. However, the low xerotolerance of this species precluded growth on frozen media below — 5 C. It seems therefore that — 5 C is the practical limiting temperature for mould growth on meat, and mould spoilage usually indicates that surfaces of freezer stored meats have approached and possibly exceeded 0 C. |
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