Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris: new methods for inhibiting spore germination

For a long period the thermal processing has been considered as the only way to reduce the initial spore number of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris and prevent the spoilage of acidic beverage. New methods, however, were proposed by the literature to control spore germination both in laboratory media and in real systems. After a brief introduction on the impact of A. acidoterrestris in food microbiology and a description of enumeration methods and heat processing applied by the juices manufactures, a review of innovative approaches to inhibit and/or control spore germination is proposed. In particular, this paper focuses on two different topics; the 1st is the use of some natural compounds (monolaurin, lysozyme, nisin and essential oils) or some chemicals, conventional (like sodium-benzoate, organic acids, surfactants and chlorine dioxide) or not conventional (chlorine dioxide as gas). The 2nd topic is a description of some innovative methods to reduce the initial spore number (high hydrostatic and homogenisation pressures, radiation and microwaves).