Cellular Injuries in Cronobacter sakazakii CIP 103183T and Salmonella enterica Exposed to Drying and Subsequent Heat Treatment in Milk Powder

Because of the ability of foodborne pathogens to survive in low-moisture foods, their decontamination is an important issue in food protection. This study aimed to clarify some of the cellular mechanisms involved in inactivation of foodborne pathogens after drying and subsequent heating. Individual strains of Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Senftenberg, and Cronobacter sakazakii were mixed into whole milk powder and dried to different water activity levels (0.25 and 0.58); the number of surviving cells was determined after drying and subsequent thermal treatments in closed vessels at 90 and 100°C, for 30 and 120 s. For each condition, the percentage of unculturable cells was estimated and, in parallel, membrane permeability and respiratory activity were estimated by flow cytometry using fluorescent probes. After drying, it was clearly observable that the percentage of unculturable cells was correlated with the percentage of permeabilized cells (responsible for 20–40% of the total inactivated bacteria after drying), and to a lesser degree with the percentage of cells presenting with loss of respiratory activity. In contrast, the percentages of unculturable cells observed after heat treatment were strongly correlated with the loss of respiratory activity and weakly with membrane permeability (for 70–80% of the total inactivated bacteria after heat treatment). We conclude that cell inactivation during drying is closely linked to membrane permeabilization and that heat treatment of dried cells affects principally their respiratory activity. These results legitimize the use of time–temperature scales and allow better understanding of the cellular mechanisms of bacterial death during drying and subsequent heat treatment. These results may also allow better optimization of the decontamination process to ensure food safety by targeting the most deleterious conditions for bacterial cells without denaturing the food product.