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Use of the Weibull model for lactococcal bacteriophage inactivation by high hydrostatic pressure

M Dilek Avsaroglu1, Sencer Buzrul, Hami Alpas

  • 1Food Engineering Department, Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey.

International Journal of Food Microbiology
|January 3, 2006
PubMed

Insights

High hydrostatic pressure inactivates lactococcal bacteriophages, with survival curves best described by the Weibull model, not traditional linear models.

Area of Science:

  • Food microbiology
  • Microbial inactivation
  • High hydrostatic pressure technology

Background:

  • Lactococcal bacteriophages pose a significant threat to dairy fermentations.
  • Understanding bacteriophage inactivation is crucial for maintaining starter culture stability.
  • High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) is an emerging technology for microbial control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the inactivation kinetics of four lactococcal bacteriophages (phiLl6-2, phiLl35-6, phiLd66-36, and phiLd67-42) under high hydrostatic pressure (HHP).
  • To evaluate the suitability of the Weibull model in describing non-linear survival curves of bacteriophages exposed to HHP.
  • To compare the fitting performance of the Weibull model against traditional linear models for HHP inactivation data.

Main Methods:

  • Pressurization of four lactococcal bacteriophages in M17 broth at 300 and 350 MPa at room temperature.
  • Determination of bacteriophage survival curves at various time intervals.
  • Mathematical modeling of survival data using the Weibull model and traditional linear models.
  • Statistical analysis of model goodness-of-fit using R2, RMSE, and residual/correlation plots.

Main Results:

  • All tested bacteriophages exhibited tailing in their survival curves under HHP treatment.
  • The Weibull model provided a significantly better fit to the non-linear survival data compared to traditional linear models.
  • Goodness-of-fit indicators (R2, RMSE, plots) strongly supported the superiority of the Weibull model.
  • Hazard plots confirmed the appropriateness of the Weibull model for analyzing HHP inactivation data.

Conclusions:

  • The Weibull model is highly effective for describing the inactivation of lactococcal bacteriophages by high hydrostatic pressure.
  • This study validates the application of the Weibull model beyond bacterial cells and spores to bacteriophage inactivation.
  • Findings contribute to the understanding and optimization of HHP as a preservation strategy in the dairy industry.

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