Food Safety & Regulation
Low-acid food
A food with an equilibrium pH above 4.6 and water activity above 0.85, capable of supporting Clostridium botulinum growth.
The reason canned vegetables and meats need pressure sterilisation, while naturally more acidic canned tomatoes or pickles can be processed more simply.
Related terms
Clostridium botulinum
Food MicrobiologyAn anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium producing botulinum neurotoxin. Proteolytic types do not grow below pH 4.6, aw 0.94 or 10 °C.
12D concept
Food MicrobiologyThe commercial sterility standard for low-acid canned food: a heat process delivering twelve decimal reductions of Clostridium botulinum spores.
Pasteurisation
Processing & PreservationA mild heat treatment that destroys vegetative pathogens and reduces spoilage organisms, without eliminating spores. Milk: LTLT 63 °C for 30 min, or HTST 72 °C for 15 s.
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