Flavorings as new sources of contamination by deteriogenic Alicyclobacillus of fruit juices and beverages

This study aimed to report the incidence of Alicyclobacillus and Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris in apple and pear flavorings (n = 42) and to assess the effect of guaiacol-producing A. acidoterrestris strains on apple flavorings stored at 4, 20 and 45 °C. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was used for simultaneous confirmation of alicyclobacilli. A total of six isolates were identified as A. acidoterrestris, and only one strain was not able to produce guaiacol. The storage of apple flavoring at the optimum growth temperature of A. acidoterrestris (45 °C) resulted in the reduction in the spores´ counts within 30 days of storage. On the other hand, during chilling (4 °C) and ambient storage conditions (20 °C) the counts of spores that remained stable for up to 60 days. An A. acidoterrestris strain inoculated in flavoring and further added to apple juice was able to grow and produce guaiacol in high amounts between 1?7 days of storage at 30 °C. In the current study it was shown that flavorings may be contaminated by deteriogenic A. acidoterrestris strains that are able to survive during storage in awide range of temperature for long periods and further contaminate and spoil formulated fruitjuices and beverages. A novel potential source of fruit juices and beverages contamination by deteriogenic Alicyclobacillus was shown. To the best of the author´s knowledge, this is the first report on the incidence and fate of Alicyclobacillus and A. acidoterrestris in flavorings.Fil: Oteiza, Juan Martín. Centro de Invest. y Asistencia Tec. A la Industria; ArgentinaFil: Soto, Silvina. Centro de Invest. y Asistencia Tec. A la Industria; ArgentinaFil: Ortiz Alvarenga, Verónica. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Sant Ana, Anderson S.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Giannuzzi, Leda. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; Argentin