Thermal Death Kinetics of Spores of Bacillus sporothermodurans Isolated from UHT Milk

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1 Int. Dairy Journal 8 (1998) Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain PII : S (98) /99/$ see front matter Thermal Death Kinetics of Spores of Bacillus sporothermodurans Isolated from UHT Milk ABSTRACT Ingrid A. Huemer*, Nicolette Klijn, Henri W. J. Vogelsang and Leo P. M. Langeveld Netherlands Institute for Dairy Research (NIZO), P.O. Box 20, 6710 BA Ede, The Netherlands (Received 7 August 1998; accepted 26 November 1998) In recent years reports have been published on non-sterility problems in UHT milk caused by the survival of very heat-resistant spores, which have been identified as belonging to the species Bacillus sporothermodurans. In order to solve the problems in dairy practice more information is needed on the thermal death kinetics of these spores. The heat resistance of spores of three Bacillus sporothermodurans strains isolated from non-sterile UHT milk was determined in the temperature range of C and was compared with the heat resistance of Bacillus stearothermophilus spores. For the low temperatures ( C) the heating was carried out in tubes. For the higher temperatures ( C) a direct UHT sterilizer was used. D values of s (B. stearothermophilus D "0.9 s) indicate an exceptionally high heat resistance of spores of B. sporothermodurans under UHT conditions. Thermal death time (TDT) curves show different slopes for B. sporothermodurans and B. stearothermophilus, with z" C and 9.1 C, respectively. To our knowledge there are no observations of other spores in the literature for which such high D values and z values have been demonstrated Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Keywords: heat resistance; Bacillus sporothermodurans; spores TDT curve INTRODUCTION The occurrence of heat-resistant mesophilic sporeforming bacteria (HRS) causing non-sterility problems in UHT milk products has been reported during recent years by several authors (Foschino et al., 1990; Kessler et al., 1994; Hammer et al., 1995). Molecular investigations of the 16S rrna of these sporeformers showed that a new Bacillus species is involved (Klijn et al., 1994), which has been recently described by Petterson et al. (1996) as Bacillus sporothermodurans. Data concerning the phenotypic characterization of B. sporothermodurans have been published (Petterson et al., 1996; Klijn et al., 1997), but besides the practical observations no information on the heat resistance of these spores has been published. This is essential information for dairy practice in order to solve the problems in relation to the survival of spores in the UHT process. Microbial heat resistance is affected by various environmental factors, such as sporulation temperature (El- Bisi and Ordal, 1956; Cook and Gilbert, 1968; Beaman and Gerhardt, 1986), ph and composition of the sporulation medium (Amaha and Ordal, 1957; Yokoya and York, 1965; Busta, 1967; Davies, 1975; Mayou and Jezeski, 1977; Stadhouders et al., 1980; Mazas et al., 1995) and the heating menstruum (Cook and Gilbert, 1968; Shehata et al., 1977; Mayou and Jezeski, 1977; Cook and Gilbert, 1968; Condón and Sala, 1992; Sala et al., 1994; Lo pez et al., 1996). Another phenomenon influencing the heat resistance of spores was investigated by Etoa and *Corresponding author. Michielis (1988), who found a heat-induced resistance after sublethal heat treatment of spores. All these observations, as well as so-far unknown mechanisms contributing to the heat-resistance properties of bacterial spores, indicate the difficulties in obtaining comparable kinetic data. The objective of the present investigation was to obtain more knowledge on the heat resistance of B. sporothermodurans spores in milk in order to have reliable data for design of optimal thermal process conditions. A second aim was to obtain information about the time-temperature range fit for the specific selection of B. sporothermodurans spores from other heat-resistant spores in raw milk. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bacterial strains The following strains were used for heat-resistance studies: Bacillus sporothermodurans J16 (obtained from the Federal Dairy Research Center, Kiel, Germany; NIZO B1106), Bacillus sporothermodurans B (NIZO B1107, isolated from UHT milk), Bacillus sporothermodurans MB921 (NIZO B1109, isolated from UHT milk) and Bacillus stearothermophilus C953 (NIZO B469). For the isolation of strains B and MB921 from UHT milk, the milk samples were heated for 30 or 90 min at 100 C. All strains were grown on ONA-medium consisting of 25 g L Nutrient Broth (Oxoid, Hampshire, UK), 15 g L Bacto Agar (Oxoid), 1 mg L Vitamin B12 851

2 852 I. A. Huemer et al. (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.), 8.4 mg L MnSO ) H O and 1gL CaCl ) 2H O, ph 6.8. Preparation of spore suspensions The strains (one colony) were spread on the surface of large ONA plates (diameter 14 cm, 100 ml medium) and were incubated for seven days at 37 C (B. sporothermodurans) or 55 C (B. stearothermophilus). For obtaining the spore suspension B. sporothermodurans J16 the ONA plates were spread from a colony grown from the original stock culture of B. sporothermodurans J16. For obtaining the spore suspension J16 the ONA plates were spread from a colony obtained after 10 successive transfers and cultures of strain J16. Sporulation was checked microscopically. About 0.1% 1% of the B. sporothermodurans and B. stearothermophilus cells had sporulated. To harvest spores, the dense carpet of bacteria was removed with 5 ml of cold, sterile peptone physiological salt solution (1 g L Peptone, Oxoid; 8.5 g L NaCl) transferred to a sterile vessel and heated at 80 C for 13 min in order to kill vegetative cells. The spore content was then between 310 and 310 ml. The spore suspensions were stored at 4 C until required. Stocks of the spore suspensions are kept at!135 C. Heat resistance studies Sterile skim milk was inoculated with the spores about 1 h before heat treatment and was stored at 5 C. For the determination of the heat resistance at low temperatures ( C) the dilution rate was 1 : 100. Samples were heated in sterile glass tubes (inner diameter 7.0 mm, wall thickness 1 mm). The tubes were filled with 2 ml of sample, closed with a sterile rubber stopper and clasped in a rack, which was submerged in a silicone oil bath set at the desired temperature. The temperature equilibration time was measured in a separate tube provided with a thermocouple and heated in the same way. A time temperature profile is shown in Fig. 1. To reach 120 C in the sample, 2.8 min were required. Next to the temperature equilibration time, the samples were heated at different temperatures for different time periods. After heat treatment the rack with tubes was transferred to a water-ice bath for cooling. Heat resistance studies at UHT temperatures ( C) were carried out by using a direct steam injection-vacuum sterilizer with a capacity of 60 L h (VTIS, Alfa-Laval, Lund, Sweden). Portions of 1 : 10,000 inoculated skim milk were heated for different time-temperature combinations. The heated milk was cooled in the equipment to about 15 C and was filled aseptically into sterile bottles which were kept at 5 C until further treatment. The concentration of spores in the milk samples was determined before and after heat treatment within about 20 h. For the tube method zero time (time with initial spore concentration) was considered the time at which the contents of the tubes reached the desired temperature. In case of the UHT treatment the initial number of spores was determined after heating the untreated sample for 13 min at 80 C to kill possible contaminants in the milk which could have been caused by the not fully aseptic handling of the sample before the sterilisation procedure. After appropriate dilution in peptone physiological salt solution, survivors were enumerated by plating on ONA with incubation for 48 h at 37 C for the detection of Bacillus sporothermodurans and 55 C for Bacillus stearothermophilus. The arithmetic mean of the results from duplicate plates was taken as the number of survivors in each dilution. After each experiment the identity of the isolates were checked by RAPD-analyses (Klijn et al., 1997) in order to eliminate possible contaminations. Computer-assisted calculation of kinetic data Activation energy (E ) and pre-exponential factor (k ) were calculated with the computer program KINEST (Vogelsang and de Jong, 1996), using the end concentrations (N), the initial concentrations (N ), the measured heating time (θ) and the measured temperature (¹) as given data, according to the following first-order reaction: ln N N "k eθ. The decimal reduction times (D values) were calculated from the number of decimal reductions of spores (log(n /N)) in dependence on the heating time, whereby only the linear part of the measured survivor curves was included in the calculations. The best values of E and k were computed by minimizing the difference between experimental and calculated log(d) values. Next, z values were calculated using the activation energy (E ) estimated with KINEST and the average temperature (¹)of the investigated temperature range according to the equation of de Jong (de Jong, 1996): z" ln(10)r¹ E!ln(10)R¹. Fig. 1. Time temperature profile in a tube with skimmilk heated in an oil bath at 120 C () and measured destruction curve of Bacillus sporothermodurans J16 spores (). Comparison between measured and theoretical kinetic data Based on the kinetic data E and ln k calculated from measurements of the temperature range C and

3 C for B. sporothermodurans J16 and the measured time-temperature profiles in the tubes, the theoretical heat inactivation of B. sporothermodurans J16 spores was calculated for the temperature range C with a computer model based on the abovementioned equations. Then measurements were performed within this temperature range both with the tube method and with the direct UHT sterilizer. In this way the theoretical spore destruction was compared with the measured destruction in both heating methods, in order to estimate the reliability of the data obtained in the tube methods at high temperatures. Heat resistance of Bacillus sporothermodurans spores 853 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Effect of subcultivation on the heat resistance Table 1 shows the D values obtained for two spore suspensions of J16 that differed in the number of culture passages applied before preparation of the spore suspension. The D values obtained for the spore suspension of the more original culture of J16 were about twice as high as the D values of the spore suspension of a culture which was obtained after several culture steps (J16). In order to maintain the natural heat resistance properties of the spores under laboratory conditions it seems to be necessary to avoid continous subculturing of the original isolates. Heat resistance Thermal death time (TDT) curves, representing the logarithm of the decimal reduction time (D values) in seconds plotted against temperature, are shown for two of the investigated strains in Fig. 2. Linear relationships of TDT curves obtained above temperatures of 121 C have been questioned by numerous authors (Busta, 1967; Burton et al., 1977; David and Merson, 1990). In this work straight lines were obtained in all cases for the complete temperature interval studied, with linear correlation coefficients higher than This finding is in agreement with data published by Esselen and Pflug (1956) and Gaze and Brown (1988), who reported no variation in the z value. In Table 2 the reaction kinetic data of the heat inactivation of spores of all investigated strains are collected. The activation energy for the heat inactivation of Table 1. The Effect of Subcultivation on the Thermal Resistance of B. sporothermodurans Spores Spore suspensions of B. sporothermodurans J16 D values (s) ¹ ( C) J J J16: A Spore suspension prepared after 10 culture passages. J16: B Spore suspension prepared from original stock culture. Fig. 2. Thermal death time curves of B. stearothermophilus spores () and B. sporothermodurans spores J16 (); best fit lines through experimental data. Table 2. Reaction Kinetic Data for the Heat Inactivation of Bacillus Spores in Skimmilk Strains z E ln k ( C) (kj mol) (s) B. stearothermophilus C B. sporothermodurans J B. sporothermodurans B B. sporothermodurans MB B. stearothermophilus spores calculated in this work, E "345.7 kj mol, is in good agreement with that found by Peri et al. (1988), E "345.4 kj mol, for about the same temperature range. Reported decimal reduction times of D "246 s (Behringer and Kessler, 1992) and D "210 s (Mayou and Jezeski, 1977) for the heat inactivation of B. stearothermophilus spores in skim milk, and those found by other researchers as gathered by Holdsworth (1992), compare well with our findings, D "191 s. At low-temperatures (Fig. 2) spores of B. sporothermodurans strains were slightly less heat resistant than spores of B. stearothermophilus, and about equally resistant at about 120 C. From the review of Holdsworth (1992) it can be seen that the heat resistance of spores of B. sporothermodurans at about 120 C may be very close to that of spores of, e.g. Bacillus subtilis (up to 30 s). So, it is not possible to specifically select for B. sporothermodurans spores by laboratory heating experiments at that temperature or lower temperatures. All investigated B. sporothermodurans spores showed a considerably higher heat resistance at UHT temperatures, with D values ranging from 3.4 to 7.9 s, compared with B. stearothermophilus with a D value of 0.9 s (see Fig. 2). This is caused by the high z value. The similar high z values (z" C) as well as the similar relatively low values of the activation energies calculated (E " kj mol) indicate a common exceptionally high heat resistance in the UHT temperature range of the B. sporothermodurans spores

4 854 I. A. Huemer et al. Table 3. Comparison between Measured and Calculated D Values for B. sporothermodurans J16 ¹ ( C) D values (s) Measured in tubes Measured with UHT pilot n.d n.d.: not determined. Calculated investigated in this work. This is uncommon for aerobic spores. In the survey by Holdsworth (1992) high z values for other aerobic spores are mentioned. However on checking the literature concerned, the promised article had not been published (Fox and Pflug, 1968), the results at high temperatures had been gathered by tube experiments (Navani et al., 1970) or the z value had been estimated only up to 128 C (Segner et al., 1963). Comparison between measurement and theoretical kinetic data The linear correlation coefficient for the best fit between the measured data in the temperature range C and mathematical model for B. sporothermodurans J16 spores is At temperatures above 125 C the measurements obtained with the tube method had a deviation compared to the calculated values based on the model, whereas in the measurements with the UHT sterilizer the expected values were obtained. It can therefore be concluded that the tube method results in reliable measurements at temperatures below 125 C. At higher temperatures the D- values obtained in the tube method are higher than those based on the caculated model and the UHT measurements (Table 3). This might be caused by the heating-up time, but real-time monitoring of the temperature did not support this hypothesis. Apparently, there is at a certain point a difference between batch heating in tubes and the UHT process. Therefore, it was concluded that measurement at temperatures higher than 125 C cannot be carried out with the tube method described, but should be performed with a UHT sterilizer. Conclusions The observations presented in this article show that non-sterility in UHT milk can be caused by the survival of spores of B. sporothermodurans present in the milk prior to the heat treatment. B. sporothermodurans spores have an exceptionally high heat resistance at UHT temperatures, which is definitely different from the kinetic pattern of B. stearothermophilus spores. However, due to the specific kinetic characteristics of heat inactivation in the temperature range C, the spores of B. sporothermodurans have heat resistance similar to or even lower than those of B. stearothermophilus, and their heat resistance is even very close to that of spores of B. subtilis. This means that within the temperature range that can be applied by common heating equipment in a laboratory, it is not possible to specifically select for B. sporothermodurans spores. Only the unique heat resistance in the temperature range of C might be used as a selective tool for the isolation of B. sporothermodurans from raw milk. D values of s indicate an exceptionally high heat resistance of spores of B. sporothermodurans under UHT conditions (for B. stearothermophilus, D "0.9 s). TDT curves show different slopes for spores of B. sporothermodurans and B. stearothermophilus, with z" C and 9.1 C, respectively. To the best of our knowledge there are no observations regarding other aerobic spores in the literature for which such high D values and z values have been demonstrated. Based on the data presented, solutions to inactivate these spores in UHT milk processing can be designed. NOMENCLATURE D decimal reduction time; time (s) required for the number of spores to be reduced by a factor of ten at a given temperature ¹; the index ¹ is expressed in C e base of natural logarithms E activation energy (kj mol) k pre-exponential factor (s) N initial concentration of spores (cfu ml) N end concentration of spores (cfu ml) R universal gas constant (J mol K) ¹ absolute temperature (K) θ z heating time (s) temperature change ( C) required to cause a tenfold change in D ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank Arjen A. Wagendorp for the genetic characterization of the isolates and Klaas Leffring for the carefully carried out UHT experiments. Part of the research work presented here was supported by Tetra Pak Research, Stuttgart, Germany (Dr Fritz Lembke). We thank Stork CRO, Nieuw Vennep, The Netherlands, for kindly providing equipment for the tube heating method. REFERENCES Amaha, M. and Ordal, J. Z. 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