Hurdle technology in food manufacturing

Or at least clamber over hurdles! Previous work has shown that if different stress factors are applied to bacteria, the order in which they are applied will determine the potential for bacterial survival or death during subsequent storage.

Often the demands of a food or drink recipe will involve the sequential application of individually sub-lethal stresses to the food matrix, which may have a cumulative inhibitory effect on the microflora present (the hurdle approach).

Ongoing research is looking at the stress response of L. monocytogenes to a range of common stresses used in hurdle technology (e.g. storage temperature, pH, salt, heat process and preservatives). Using the data obtained, we are testing whether it is possible to predict and test combinations of sub-lethal stresses added in the optimum order for their inhibitory effects.This will help the manufacture of safe food through the optimum application of hurdle technology, and it will potentially allow greater flexibility in process design due to increased predictability of microbial response to hurdle technology. For more insight into how this can help your products and processes, contact Greg Jones. To hear Greg Jones talk about this project, visit our podcasts page.

Contact: Greg Jones
+44(0)1386 842143
greg.jones@campdenbri.co.uk