Bacterial spore injury during extrusion cooking of corn/soybean mixtures

This study examined the potential for injury of Bacillus globigii (Bacillus subtilis var. niger, strain ATCC9372) spores during extrusion cooking of a corn/soybean (70/30%, w/v) mixture. The barrel temperature in zone 1 was kept constant at 80 degrees C while it was varied from 100 to 120 and 140 degrees C in zone 2. Recovery and enumeration of spores surviving the extrusion cooking process were conducted with five culture media ranging from minimal to rich in nutrient composition. Numbers of spores counted with a minimal culture medium after extrusion at the low temperature were lower compared to recovery with more complete media. All culture media, including minimal and richer, were equally effective in recovering untreated spores. At the higher extrusion temperatures all media were equally effective in recovering the small numbers of viable spores. The results indicated that the spores of the organism may be injured at lower extrusion temperatures.