| Abstrakt: |
Some thermal processes, such as pistachio roasting, are not yet well characterized with respect to the impact of product and process variables on Salmonellalethality. This study aimed to quantify the effects of process temperature, humidity, and initial product water activity (aw), on Salmonellalethality for in-shell pistachios. In-shell pistachios were inoculated with SalmonellaEnteritidis PT 30 (∼8.5 log CFU/g), equilibrated (0.45 or 0.65 aw), and heated without soaking (“dry”) or after a pure-water or 27% NaCl brining pretreatment (“presoaked”). Inoculated pistachio samples (15 g) were heated in a laboratory-scale, moist-air convection oven at 104.4 or 118.3°C, humidities of ∼3, 15, or 30%, v/v (∼24.4, 54.4, or 69.4°C dew point), and air speed of 1.3 m/s. Salmonellasurvivors were quantified at six times during each treatment, targeting total reductions of ∼3 to 5 log. Survivor data were analyzed using analysis of variance to identify main effects (time, temperature, humidity, and initial aw) and two-term interactions with time. As expected, lethality increased (P< 0.05) with temperature and humidity. For example, the time to achieve a 4-log reduction decreased 50 to 80% when humidity increased from ∼3 to 30%. When the dry and presoaked treatments were analyzed separately, initial product aw(0.45 versus 0.65 awor 0.75 versus 0.95 aw) did not affect lethality (P> 0.05). However, when comparing dry against presoaked treatments, the time to achieve a 4-log reduction decreased 55 to 85% (P< 0.05) for presoaked pistachios subjected to the same temperature-humidity treatment. Salt had no effect (P> 0.05) on lethality outcomes. These results, relative to initial aw, process humidity, brining, and salt effects on process lethality, are critically important and must be considered in the design and validation of thermal processes for Salmonellareduction in pistachio processing. |
