Use of linear, Weibull, and log-logistic functions to model pressure inactivation of seven foodborne pathogens in milk

Survival curves of six foodborne pathogens suspended in ultra high-temperature (UHT) whole milk and exposed to high hydrostatic pressure at 21.5 °C were obtained. Vibrio parahaemolyticus was treated at 300 MPa and other pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus were treated at 600 MPa. All the survival curves showed a rapid initial drop in bacterial counts followed by tailing caused by a diminishing inactivation rate. A linear model and two nonlinear models were fitted to these data and the performances of these models were compared using mean square error (MSE) values. The log-logistic and Weibull models consistently produced better fits to the inactivation data than the linear model. The mean MSE value of the linear model was 6.1, while the mean MSE values were 0.7 for the Weibull model and 0.3 for the log-logistic model. There was no correlation between pressure resistance and the taxonomic group the bacteria belong to. The order, most to least pressure-sensitive, of the single strains tested was: V. parahaemolyticus (gram negative)