Studies on the heat and disinfectant resistance of a spore-forming spoilage bacterium

Heat resistant thermophilic spore-forming bacteria, such as Aeribacillus (A.) pallidus, may contaminate the surfaces in food facilities resulting food spoilage of the products. The aim of this work was to determine the heat and disinfectant resistance of an A. pallidus strain that was isolated from a canning factory environment. Compared to other heat-resistant spore-forming bacteria, it did not prove to be very resistant to heat with a D₁₀-values of A. pallidus from 12.2 min to 2.4 min (at 102 °C and at 110 °C), with a calculated z-value of 11.6 °C. Not only spores but vegetative cells showed resistance against all investigated disinfectants.