Course:FNH200/Lessons/Lesson 06/Page 06.6

6.6 Protective Effects of Food Constituents

Sugars, oils, fats and salt can have the effect of protecting spores and vegetative cells from the killing effects of heat, thus requiring use of longer exposure times or higher temperatures for processing those foods exhibiting these protective effects. Certain spices may have antimicrobial activity and  change the resistance of microorganisms and spores to the killing effects of high temperatures (D and z values are decreased). Food processing companies must be very careful in re-evaluating the lethality of the thermal processes they used after they reformulate foods that are preserved by thermal processing (commercial sterilization, pasteurization).