Modeling the growth rate and lag time of different strains of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat lettuce

► Modeling the growth of three different strains of Salmonella and L. monocytogenes. ► Primary and secondary modeling of growth rate and lag time in mix of lettuces. ► Salmonella grew faster than L. monocytogenes in the temperatures tested (7-30 °C). ► L. monocytogenes showed higher lag times at 7 and 10 °C than Salmonella enterica. ► Secondary modeling for both pathogens showed a linear trend with R2 values >0.90.