ABSTRACT
Although the weak organic acids have been used as food preservatives for centuries, only recently have the mechanisms involved in bacterial inhibition been investigated (Hirscheld, Terzulli, and O’Byrne, 2003). It has become imperative to achieve a better understanding of how microbial cells respond to preservatives in order to design improved preservation strategies (Papadimitriou et al., 2007). It has, however, become clear that the mechanism of microbial growth inhibition executed by the organic acids is complicated and has not yet been elucidated (Chaveerach et al., 2002; Taniguchi et al., 1998).
