An Innovative Combination

Fast, specific and automated microbiological detection of the beverage-spoiling organism Alicyclobacillus.

Abstract

Bacteria of the genus Alicyclobacillus are dreaded by the fruit juice industry. While they are non-pathogenic and not harmful to humans, they can cause an unpleasant, chemical-phenolic off-flavor in fruit juices and concentrates. As alicyclobacilli are aerobic spore-forming bacteria, they are able to survive pasteurization processes in juice production as well as hot bottling. They are able to reproduce at temperatures of > 25 °C and their optimum temperature for growth is at about 45 °C. As they are also acidophilic, their growth is not impaired by the acidic conditions in fruit juices as it is the case for most other bacteria.

This article reports about the development and verification of a new, innovative method for detection of alicyclobacilli in fruit juice and concentrates as a part of the production quality control. The field sample study conducted in the laboratories of a major beverage producer from Germany was able to demonstrate that virtually any fruit juice matrix can be analyzed rapidly and specifically with the new method without any problems. The newly developed detection system Flow VIT® Alicylcobacillus, a combination of VIT® gene probe technology and flow cytometry, is a valid, specific and faster alternative to established cultivation-based and molecular methods.

Publication language: English

Flow VIT® Alicyclobacillus

Quotation

Dr. Claudia Beimfohr (2018): An Innovative Combination. Fast, specific and automated microbiological detection of the beverage-spoiling organism Alicyclobacillus. In: BREWING AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY INTERNATIONAL, issue 6/2018, p. 13 -15.