Modelling microbe growth and inactivation

Quantitatively assessing the risk of pathogens and spoilers in your food and nutrition product, from ingredient to finished product

Any time you change an existing product process or formulation (reducing salt or sugar for example), introduce a novel ingredient or product (such as a plant-based dairy alterative), or extend a product’s shelf life, you open the door to potential bacterial contamination in your chain. Yet, all too often, controlling pathogenic and spoilage microbes in a new or reformulated product comes at the end of the development process. Adopting a more holistic approach from the start can solve potential problems as an integral part of the product development itself – before you even have a product to test. This offers microbial safety and quality ‘by design’.

Embedding pathogen and spoiler control in dairy and plant-based product development

By modelling the growth and inactivation of microbes, NIZO helps you answer two key questions about your new or adapted product. Firstly, could it potentially contain any microorganisms of concern? Secondly, would it support the growth of the microorganisms? Discovery starts in silico, by mapping the bacterial risks associated with different ingredients, processing conditions and the product characteristics you want to build in. Once you have developed a product formulation, we can use quantitative microbiological risk assessments to provide a more precise identification of the risks: for example, what is the survival rate of a pathogen after heating, and what does that mean for potential outgrowth during production or in your finished product during its shelf life?

NIZO can:

• Scan and assess the impact of microbiological contaminants in the raw materials
• Scan and assess the impact of the defined process
• Scan and assess the microbial risks in finished product
• Scan and assess the microbial risks during shelf life based on relevant chain conditions
• Provide advise on shelf-life extension and storage