ABSTRACT
The most important criteria for food products from a consumer and industry perspective are high safety and quality. From the industry point of view, long shelf life times are also important for economic reasons. These aspects are a considerable
CONTENTS
6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 127 6.2 Microbial Spoilage Indicators for Shelf Life Prediction .............................. 128
6.2.1 Microbial Growth Characteristics .................................................... 131 6.2.1.1 Lag Phase (Adjustment Phase) ........................................... 132 6.2.1.2 Exponential Phase .............................................................. 133 6.2.1.3 Stationary Phase................................................................. 133
6.2.2 Factors In›uencing Microbial Growth ............................................. 133 6.3 Shelf Life Determination Using Microbial Indicators.................................. 136
6.3.1 Denition of Product and Process Characteristics ........................... 140 6.3.2 Literature Review ............................................................................. 141 6.3.3 Shelf Life Studies.............................................................................. 142 6.3.4 Shelf Life Modeling .......................................................................... 143 6.3.5 Determination of the Acceptability Limit ........................................ 150 6.3.6 Expansion of Shelf Life Models for the Consideration of
Dynamic Temperature Conditions .................................................... 151 6.3.7 Database and Software Tools ........................................................... 158
6.4 Application of Shelf Life Models ................................................................. 159 6.5 Final Remarks ............................................................................................... 161 6.6 References ..................................................................................................... 162
and specic challenge for the food industry with regard to perishable products. The prediction of shelf life of the most perishable products is based on microbial indicators since most of these products provide good bacterial growth conditions due to their nutritional composition and physical properties.
