FST 235: Thermal Processing
Second Semester, AY 2023 - 24
Problem Set No. B
1. The following data were obtained from a thermal resistance experiment conducted on a spore
suspension at 115°C:
Number of microorganisms
Time
1 2
0 1.24 x 107 1.34 x 107
2 2.71 x 106 2.45 x 106
5
4 6.85 x 10 6.58 x 105
5 1.12 x 105 9.90 x 104
4
8 2.90 x 10 3.50 x 104
3
10 4.29 x 10 5.34 x 103
Determine the slope of the curve by plotting data using a semi-logarithmic paper.
2. Plot time of inactivation vs. temperature (˚C)
110 °C 115 °C 120 °C 121 °C
A -- 61.1 4.16 2.98
B 87.8 32.0 3.27 2.42
C -- 88.4 4.4 3.4
D 23.9 6.70 0.39 --
E 2.4 -- 0.19 --
F 6.1 -- 0.42 --
Determine/compute the slope of the curves.
3. Prior to processing, a canned food contains 1000 spores per can, The spores have D-value of
1.50 mins at 121.1 °C. if the process is carried out to an equivalent process time of 10 minutes at
121.1 °C, what would be the probability of spoilage?
4. Outgrowth of Microorganisms:
When we enumerate microorganisms in or on agar Petri plates, about 1 x 10 6
microorganisms are required for a colony to be visible to the naked eye. If we assume that the
growth of microorganisms is by binary fission and proceeds as a geometric progression:
a. How many generations will be required for an initial one surviving microorganisms to
produce a colony of 1 x 106 microorganisms?
b. When the generation time is 30 minutes, how much time will be required?
c. If 60 hours are required for heated Bacillus stearothermophilus spores to produce an
easily visible colony, what is the appropriate generation time?
Generation No. of Microorganisms
0
1
2
3
FST 235: Thermal Processing
Second Semester, AY 2023 - 24
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