Effects of spices on growth and survival of Escherichia coli 0157 and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis in broth model systems and mayonnaise

The growth and survival of Escherichia coli 0157 and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis were studied in the presence of garlic, ginger, mustard and cloves. Experiments in broth model systems supplemented with 0.25–1% of garlic and clove showed bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal activities towards both microorganisms. Clove was the most effective antimicrobial followed by garlic. Mustard and ginger had only little bacteriostatic activity. E. coli 0157 was more sensitive than S. enterica serovar Enteritidis against all spices tested except mustard. Garlic was selected from the sensorial point of view as a suitable additive for mayonnaise. The efficacy of garlic in artificially contaminated mayonnaise with 105 CFU/g S. enterica serovar Enteritidis was tested. Garlic (1%) reduced the viable cells of S. enterica serovar Enteritidis in mayonnaise by a factor of 10.