Survival of Salmonellae in Pasteurized, Refrigerated Calcium-Fortified Orange Juice

Abstract

Studies were done to determine the survival of salmonellae in orange juice as affected by fortification with calcium. Four brands of commercially pasteurized orange juice fortified with calcium (350 mg/240-ml serving) and nonfortified juice were inoculated separately with three types of inocula: strains of Salmonella Muenchen (inoculum 1), serotypes of human and animal origin (inoculum 2), and isolates from raw produce- and juice-associated outbreaks (inoculum 3). Juice inoculated with populations of 6.6 to 7.0 log10 CFU of Salmonella per ml was held at 4°C for up to 32 days. The number of cells of inoculum 1 that survived in juice fortified with calcium lactate/tricalcium phosphate (CaL/TCP) was significantly lower (P ≤ 0.05) (2.80 log10 CFU/ml) than in nonfortified juice (3.50 log10 CFU/ml) after 32 days' storage. Death of salmonellae in inocula 1 and 2 was less in juice fortified with TCP (3.21 and 3.33 log10 CFU/ml, respectively) than in the nonfortified juice (3.75 and 4.15 log10 CFU/ml, respectively). During the 32-day storage period, populations in inocula 1 and 3 showed significantly less inactivation (2.62 and 3.12 log10 CFU/ml, respectively) in juice fortified with calcium citrate (CC) than in nonfortified juice (3.14 and 3.60 log10 CFU/ml, respectively).There were no significant differences in the survival of Salmonella in juice fortified with calcium citrate malate (CCM) and nonfortified juice. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) typing of randomly selected Salmonella colonies revealed that Salmonella Heidelberg in inoculum 2 and Salmonella Baildon and Salmonella Poona in inoculum 3 were the most prevalent at the end of the 32-day storage period at 4°C, suggesting that serotypes selected for use in inocula differed in tolerance to acidic environments. This study reveals that the form of calcium used to fortify orange juice may affect the survival of Salmonella.