Combining High-Pressure Processing and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide for Inactivation of Listeria innocua

The effect of high-pressure treatment with supercritical CO₂ on the inactivation of Listeria innocua in a fish soup was investigated. The soup was inoculated with L. innocua, packaged in modified atmosphere with 50:50 or 95:5 CO₂:N₂, high-pressure processed (300, 350, 400 and 600 MPa, 2 min) under subcritical (T < 304 K) or supercritical conditions (T > 304 K) and stored at 4 °C for up to 53 days. Treatment at 400 and 600 MPa had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on L. innocua under both supercritical and subcritical conditions. In contrast, pressurization at 350 MPa and supercritical conditions were needed to significantly (p < 0.05) inactive L. innocua. Increased levels of CO₂ in the headspace significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the bacterial load during processing, and supercritical conditions had a significant (p < 0.01) interaction with both CO₂ levels and pressure. Increased storage time gave significantly increased levels of L. innocua at 400 and 600 MPa. In addition, high levels of CO₂ significantly decreased (p < 0.001) growth. However, 350 MPa under supercritical conditions seemed to set the L. innocua in a permanent lag phase, with slow and steadily decreasing numbers of bacteria during storage. All the design variables resulted in significant inactivation of L. innocua, and supercritical conditions combined with high levels of CO₂ inhibited the recovery of L. innocua to a large degree.