Synergistic effect of Sodium Chloride, temperature and pH on growth of a cocktail of spoilage yeasts: a research note Original Research Article

The effect of sodium chloride (0·5–10% w/v), pH (2·6–6·3) and temperature (1–22°C) were studied on the growth of a cocktail of food spoilage yeasts. The length of the lag phase and the time taken to reach the level of 106cfu ml−1were calculated for each set of conditions. It was found that the lag phase constituted as little as 21% of the total time to reach 106cfu ml−1when the yeasts were grown in favourable conditions and as much as 62% of the total time when more extreme conditions were used. It was concluded that the lag phase was the most important factor affecting the spoilage potential of chilled foods with low pH and high salt values. The single most effective factor in reducing the growth rate of yeasts was temperature. The lag phase was 15, 38, 270, 630 and 875 h when the temperature was 15, 8, 4, 2 and 1°C respectively. At any single temperature, there appeared to be a synergistic effect of NaCl and pH and under the most extreme conditions tested (1°C; pH 5·8; 6% NaCl), the lag phase was over 1000 h. These data have implications for the spoilage potential of high salt, reduced pH foods stored at chill temperatures.