 Heat is lethal to microorganisms, but each species has

its own particular heat tolerance. During a thermal

destruction process, such as pasteurization, the rate of
destruction is logarithmic, as is their rate of growth.
Thus bacteria subjected to heat are killed at a rate that
is proportional to the number of organisms present. The
process is dependent both on the temperature of
exposure and the time required at this temperature to
accomplish to desired rate of destruction
 Psychrophilic microorganisms are the most heat
sensitive, followed by mesophiles and thermophiles.
 Sporeforming bacteria are more heat resistant than non-
sporeformers, and thermophilic sporeformers are, in
general, more heat resistant than mesophilic
sporeformers
 With respect to gram reaction, gram-positive bacteria
tend to be more heat resistant than gram negative
 cocci, in general, being more resistant than non-
sporeforming rods
 Yeasts and molds tend to be fairly sensitive to heat,
with yeast ascospores being only slightly more resistant
than vegetative yeasts
 The asexual spores of molds tend to be slightly more
heat resistant than mold mycelia
 Sclerotia are the most heat resistant of these types and
sometimes survive and cause trouble in canned fruits
 The extreme heat resistance of bacterial endosporesis of great
concern in the thermal preservation of foods. In spite of
intense study over several decades, the precise reason why
bacterial spores are so heat resistant is still not known.
 Spore heat resistance has been associated with protoplast
dehydration, mineralization, and thermal adaptation. The
compound dipicolinic acid,which is unique to bacterial spores,
was once believed to be responsible for thermal resistance,
especially as a calcium-dipicolinate complex
 Small,acid-soluble proteins (SASP) of the a/B type are found
in spores (they prevent depuration of spore DNA) and thus
they contribute to heat resistance.
 Thermal death time (TDT) is the time necessary to kill
a given number of organisms at a specified
temperature. By this method, the temperature is kept
constant and the time necessary to kill all cells is
determined.
 thermal death point, which is the temperature necessary
to kill a given number of M.O in a fixed time, usually
10 minutes.
This is the decimal reduction time, or the time
required to destroy 90% of the organisms. This value
is numerically equal to the number of minutes
required for the survivor curve to traverse one log
cycle
 D values of 0.20-2.20 minutes at 150°F have
been reported for S. aureus strains,
 D 150°F of 0.50-0.60 minute for Coxiella
burnetii, and
 D 150F of 0.20-0.30 minute for
Mycobacterium hominis.
 For pH-elevating strains of Bacillus
licheniformis spores in tomatoes, D95°C of
5.1 minutes has been reported,
 whereas for B. coagulans, a D 95°C of 13.7
minutes has been found
 The Z value reflects the temperature dependence of the
reaction. It is defined as the temperature change required
to change the D value by a factor of 10. In the illustration
below the Z value is 10°C.
 This value is the equivalent time, in minutes, at 250°F
of all heat considered, with respect to its capacity to
destroy spores or vegetative cells of a particular
organism.
 The integrated lethal value of heat received by all
points in a container during processing is designated Fs
or Fo
 The time required to destroy one log cycle or 90% is
known, and the decimal thermal reduction .
 The time required to destroy 12 log cycle or
 10^-12