Strategies for controlling the growth of spoilage yeasts in foods

CAMPOS C. A.; GLIEMMO F.; CASTRO M.

Microbial Food Safety and Preservation Techniques

Taylor & Francis Group

Lugar: Boca Ratón; Año: 2015; p. 497 - 512

While yeasts have no significant meaning on public health, they play an important role on food spoilage. The ability of some yeasts to survive and grow at low pH, low and intermediate water activities, and in the presence of some common chemical preservatives, make them potent food spoilage organisms responsible for large economic losses of food products such as drinks, salad dressings and jams, among others. Principal spoilage effects are discoloration, gas and off flavor production. However, they remained unreported due to commercial confidentiality. In particular, only a small group of ten species of yeasts are the main food spoilers, namely: Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Issatchenkia orientalis, Debaryomyces hansenii, Kloeckera apiculata, Pichia membranifaciens, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Z. bisporus, Z. rouxii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Candida holmii; owing this characteristic to their resistance mechanisms. The objective of this chapter is to review the bibliography concerning the strategies to control the growth of spoilage yeasts in foods. With special emphasis, it will be analyzed the effect of environmental factors and food components, together with their interactions, on the growth of yeasts. The application of mathematical models to predict yeast growth/inhibition will also be explored. This information will help to choose those stress factors that assure the control of spoilage yeasts in foods contributing to their quality.