Journal of Food Safety最新文献

{"title":"Cereulide in Powdered Infant Formula: Microbial Ecology, Detection, and a Supply-Chain Perspective on Risk Management","authors":"Alfi Sophian","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70093","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Powdered infant formula (PIF) is a low-water-activity food in which microbial growth is not expected; however, contamination with heat-stable toxins may still represent a food safety concern. Cereulide, a cyclic dodecadepsipeptide produced by emetic strains of <i>Bacillus cereus</i>, presents a particular challenge because toxin production can occur during upstream wet-processing stages, while the molecule remains chemically stable during thermal treatment, spray drying, and storage. Consequently, finished PIF may contain biologically active cereulide even in the absence of detectable viable <i>B. cereus</i> cells. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the microbiology, genetics, and ecological niches of cereulide-producing <i>B. cereus</i> within dairy and ingredient supply chains. Particular attention is given to the <i>ces</i> gene cluster located on the megaplasmid pCER270, the environmental conditions that promote toxin biosynthesis, and the analytical strategies used for cereulide detection in complex food matrices. Advances in detection methods, including LC–MS/MS-based toxin quantification and molecular screening of emetic lineages, are discussed in relation to their application in food safety monitoring. A central practical finding of this review is that fermentation-derived lipid ingredients—particularly microbially produced arachidonic acid (ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrates—represent the principal upstream supply-chain driver of cereulide risk in PIF, and are therefore the priority target for ingredient-level surveillance and control. Finally, we propose a supply-chain-oriented surveillance framework integrating microbial enumeration, <i>ces</i>-gene screening, and targeted cereulide analysis to support risk-based management of cereulide hazards in PIF production systems.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149205654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mechanisms of Multi-Target Damage Induced by Excimer Far-UV Light (222 nm) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: From Membrane Lipid Peroxidation to Ribosomal Damage","authors":"Kaichen Zhu,&nbsp;Kexin Feng,&nbsp;Zongzhao Yang,&nbsp;Jiangfeng Jin,&nbsp;Chaolin Chen,&nbsp;Zhiwen Yang,&nbsp;Xiaoxu zhu,&nbsp;Xianjun dai","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70100","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study systematically compares the inactivation mechanisms of 222 nm far-UVC (UV222) and conventional 254 nm UV (UV254) against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa.</i> Unlike UV254, which primarily targets DNA by inducing cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, UV222 operates through a multi-target synergistic pathway involving membrane lipid peroxidation, ribosomal damage, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Specifically, UV222 exposure increased cell membrane permeability, induced a 2.3-fold rise in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and caused 37.6% of treated cells to exhibit elevated intracellular ROS, as detected by DCFH-DA flow cytometry. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 669 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under UV222, enriched in ribosome biogenesis and carbon metabolism, while UV254 triggered 1185 DEGs linked to DNA repair and stress responses. RT-qPCR confirmed upregulation of ribosomal protein genes exclusively after UV222 treatment. The Weibull model best described inactivation kinetics for both wavelengths, with UV222 showing multi-mechanism synergy. These findings establish UV222 as a promising mechanism-driven alternative to UV254 for sustainable disinfection in food processing and healthcare settings.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149205322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microbial Quality and Bacterial Community Succession of 10 Oxygen-Permeable Vacuum Skin-Packaged Seafood Products During Post-Thaw Refrigerated Storage","authors":"Nethraja Kandula,&nbsp;Samuel Kwawukume,&nbsp;Victoria Eugenia Cortes,&nbsp;Jingjing Cheng,&nbsp;Leqi Cui,&nbsp;Prashant Singh","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70097","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>High oxygen-permeable vacuum skin packaging (10K VSP) is widely used for frozen seafood distribution to mitigate anaerobic pathogen risks, yet post-thaw microbial dynamics during refrigerated display remain poorly characterized. This study evaluated post-thaw microbial quality and bacterial community succession across 10 commercially frozen-then-thawed seafood species held under simulated retail refrigeration (4°C) on Days 1, 5, and 9. Aerobic plate counts, lactic acid bacteria, and coliform/<i>Escherichia coli</i> indicator counts were determined, and bacterial communities were characterized using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Average aerobic plate counts increased from 3.57 ± 1.03 log CFU/g on Day 1 to 6.00 ± 0.84 log CFU/g on Day 5 and 7.30 ± 0.64 log CFU/g on Day 9, although growth patterns differed among seafood products. Several products reached or exceeded microbial acceptability limits by Day 5 or Day 9. Sequencing revealed an ecological transition from initial <i>Photobacterium</i> and <i>Psychrobacter</i> dominance to a shift toward spoilage-associated genera, particularly <i>Pseudomonas</i> and <i>Brochothrix</i>, during refrigerated storage under the tested oxygen-permeable VSP condition. These findings provide study-specific information on post-thaw microbial changes in 10K VSP seafood products that may help inform future refrigerated handling and display recommendations.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149146780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Limonene-Rich Citrus sinensis Essential Oil Modulates Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence Traits of Foodborne Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Mechanistic Evidence and Validation in Fresh-Produce System","authors":"Luana de Carvalho,&nbsp;Mariana Lima Braga Pereira,&nbsp;Matheus Henrique Nogueira,&nbsp;André Ricardo Peron dos Santos,&nbsp;Mikaella Nascimento da Silva,&nbsp;Kamilly Santana Cazotto,&nbsp;Márcia Cristina Furlaneto,&nbsp;Luciana Furlaneto Maia","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70098","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The increasing prevalence of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> in food systems, coupled with its antimicrobial resistance and expression of multiple virulence traits, poses an important challenge for food safety and spoilage control. In this context, essential oils (EOs) rich in monoterpenes have emerged as promising natural alternatives for microbial control in food matrices. This study evaluated the antimicrobial, antivirulence, and resistance-modulating effects of limonene-rich <i>Citrus sinensis</i> essential oil (CS-EO) against food-associated <i>P. aeruginosa</i>, including multidrug-resistant strains, and validated its efficacy in a fresh-produce model. CS-EO exhibited antimicrobial activity against all tested strains, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 3.12 to 12.5 mg/mL. Time–kill assays demonstrated a concentration-dependent bacteriostatic effect at inhibitory concentrations (1× and 2× MIC), while exposure to ½ MIC modulated antibiotic susceptibility profiles in a strain-dependent manner. Membrane integrity assays indicated increased cellular permeability and structural damage following CS-EO treatment. In addition, CS-EO reduced important virulence-associated traits, including motility, biofilm formation (up to 77.01%), and pyocyanin production (27.4%–58.8%). Thermal treatment partially reduced antimicrobial activity. In a refrigerated fresh-cut carrot model treated with 1× MIC, CS-EO reduced bacterial populations by up to 2.5 log CFU/mL while limiting spoilage-associated visual changes. Limonene-rich <i>Citrus sinensis</i> essential oil exhibited multitarget activity against <i>P. aeruginosa</i>, affecting bacterial viability, virulence-associated traits, and antimicrobial susceptibility. Its efficacy in a fresh-produce system highlights its potential as a natural complementary strategy for controlling spoilage-associated and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in food matrices.</p>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfs.70098","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149048204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application of Full-Length 16S rRNA Metabarcoding for Characterization of Food-Associated Bacterial Communities and Screening of Putative Foodborne Pathogen-Associated Taxa in Fresh- and Processed-Foods","authors":"R. Susanti,&nbsp;Kristamtini Kristamtini,&nbsp;Dewi Mustikaningtyas,&nbsp;Wulan Christijanti","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70099","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Food-associated bacterial communities may influence food quality, spoilage, and microbiological safety, creating a need for broad culture-independent screening approaches. This exploratory study characterized bacterial communities in fresh and processed foods and screened for putative foodborne pathogen-associated taxa using full-length 16S rRNA metabarcoding. Food products obtained from three independent retail vendors in Semarang City, Indonesia, were combined through a two-stage pooling procedure into six category-level composites representing fresh foods (FF1–FF3) and processed foods (PF1–PF3). Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing of the nearly full-length 16S rRNA gene was used for bacterial community profiling. Descriptive alpha-diversity analysis showed that fresh-food composites generally had greater taxon richness, whereas processed-food composites showed higher Shannon and Simpson diversity values and lower taxon dominance. Lactic acid bacteria constituted a major component of both food categories, with higher cumulative relative sequence abundance in fresh-food composites and substantial variation in dominant genera among food matrices. Low-abundance sequence assignments corresponding to putative foodborne pathogen-associated taxa were detected in both fresh- and processed-food composites, with 13 such taxa observed across fresh foods and nine across processed foods. The higher cumulative relative sequence abundance in processed foods was largely concentrated in the fish- and seafood-based PF2 composite and was predominantly associated with Vibrio-related assignments. Full-length 16S rRNA metabarcoding therefore shows potential for broad characterization of food-associated bacterial communities, while suspected pathogen-associated signals require confirmation using independent samples and targeted molecular or culture-based methods.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149047839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Food Scandals on Trial: Analyzing Court Outcomes of Food Safety Cases in Taiwan","authors":"Chung-li Wu,&nbsp;Alex Min-Wei Lin","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70096","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Food safety governance is generally understood through legislative and administrative action, even though courts determine whether claimants receive compensation and whether criminal defendants are convicted and punished. Yet there has been little empirical research examining the judiciary's role across civil and criminal proceedings and different judicial tiers. This study analyzes Taiwan's judicial response to food safety violations using 1878 defendant-level observations from 694 civil and criminal judgments issued between January 2000 and June 2024. We examine associations between litigation outcomes and litigant characteristics, legal representation, incident type, case profile, and court context. In civil verdict models, large private enterprises acting as plaintiffs or appellants were associated with outright wins rather than defeats; more plaintiff or appellant legal representation was associated with favorable outcomes in several models. Moreover, criminal defendants from large private enterprises had lower odds of conviction in both tiers, whereas adulterated food cases had higher odds of conviction in both. Associations involving other predictors varied across proceedings, judicial tiers, and outcomes. The findings partially support party capability theory but show that associations involving litigant resources and case characteristics were not uniform. By examining civil and criminal adjudication together, this study establishes courts as a distinct site of food safety governance.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148943021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimized Stacking Ensemble Machine Learning for Nondestructive Toxicological Risk Assessment of Fish Meat Using Hyperspectral Imaging","authors":"Muhammad Aqeel,&nbsp;Muhammad Iqbal,&nbsp;Hassan Majeed,&nbsp;Rumaisa Mahmod,&nbsp;Khan Bahadar Khan,&nbsp;Yiming Deng","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70095","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The increasing occurrence of chemical contaminants and preservative misuse in fish products poses significant challenges to food safety and public health. Conventional analytical techniques, including gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and distillation-based chromatography, provide reliable contaminant detection but are often limited by high operational costs, extensive sample preparation, destructive testing, and dependence on specialized expertise. To address these limitations, this study presents an optimized stacking ensemble learning (OSEL) framework integrated with hyperspectral imaging (HSI) for rapid and nondestructive toxicological risk assessment of fish meat. Hyperspectral data were acquired using a Specim FX10 camera covering the 400–1000 nm spectral range and preprocessed with the Savitzky–Golay filter to improve spectral quality and reduce noise. Classification performance was evaluated using both a reduced subset of 25 informative spectral bands and the complete set of 224 bands. Multiple machine learning algorithms were investigated, including logistic regression, decision trees, support vector machines, linear discriminant analysis variants, and the proposed OSEL model. Among all evaluated models, OSEL demonstrated superior predictive capability, achieving 98.9% validation accuracy and 99.1% fivefold cross-validation accuracy using only 25 spectral bands. The model further attained a Jaccard index of 97%, a high Cohen's kappa, F1-score, and MCC values, with zero Hamming loss. Using the complete 224-band dataset, OSEL achieved 100% classification accuracy across all evaluation metrics. These findings demonstrate the potential of combining HSI with ensemble learning as an efficient, accurate, and scalable tool for nondestructive toxicological screening of fish meat, supporting enhanced food safety monitoring and quality assurance.</p>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfs.70095","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148942761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stress Conditioning Modulates Phenolic Antimicrobial Responses in Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria innocua","authors":"Titus Puorizaa,&nbsp;Veerachandra Yemmireddy","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70092","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Environmental stress adaptation can alter bacterial responses to antimicrobial interventions used in food processing and preservation. This study evaluated how prior acid, osmotic, and cold conditioning affected the susceptibility and growth behavior of <i>Salmonella enterica</i> serovar Typhimurium and <i>Listeria innocua</i> during exposure to carvacrol and thymol. Cells were conditioned in acidic tryptic soy broth (TSB, pH 5.5), osmotic (TSB supplemented with 2.5% NaCl), or low temperature (4°C) before antimicrobial treatment. Susceptibility was assessed using modified broth microdilution and minimum bactericidal concentration assays, while recovery was evaluated using 24 h optical-density growth curves and primary growth modeling. Stress conditioning produced modest, organism- and compound-specific changes in susceptibility. In <i>S.</i> Typhimurium, osmotic and cold conditioning increased thymol MIC from 2.5 to 5.0 mM. In <i>L. innocua</i>, osmotic and cold conditioning increased the carvacrol MIC from 2.5 to 5.0 mM and cold conditioning increased the thymol MIC from 2.5 to 5.0 mM. Under selected treatment conditions, adapted cells also showed shorter apparent lag phases than unstressed cells. In <i>L. innocua</i> time–kill assays, 0.5× MIC permitted population growth, whereas 1× MIC produced condition-dependent reductions followed by partial regrowth in several treatments; a consistent sustained bactericidal effect was not observed across all conditions. These findings indicate that prior physiological history can influence phenolic antimicrobial susceptibility and recovery behavior and should be considered when validating natural antimicrobial interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfs.70092","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148904062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"HACCP-Based Risk Assessment of Cashew Nut Processing in Benin Focusing on the Critical Role of Drying in Microbial Safety and Aflatoxin Control","authors":"Amandine Ola Olou,&nbsp;Janvier Mêlégnonfan Kindossi,&nbsp;Orou Eric Bio Nikki Sare,&nbsp;Folachodé Akogou,&nbsp;O. Herbert Iko Afe,&nbsp;Fetta Mehouel,&nbsp;Rodrigue V. Cao Diogo","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70094","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Cashew nuts are highly valued for their nutritional properties but remain susceptible to microbial contamination and aflatoxin formation during processing. This industrial case study evaluated the effectiveness of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)-based control measures in cashew nut processing, with a focus on drying operations as critical control points. A combined approach including process flow analysis and experimental evaluation of physicochemical and microbiological parameters was applied. The results showed that moisture content decreased significantly from 8.60 g/100 g to 3.86 g/100 g during processing, indicating the efficiency of multi-stage drying. Consequently, this reduction was associated with a decrease in yeasts and molds. However, total plate counts showed limited variation, decreasing from 3.98 to 2.57 Log CFU/g, thus confirming microbial persistence in low moisture conditions. No aflatoxins were detected at any stage, demonstrating effective prevention of fungal growth through moisture control. In addition, free fatty acids and peroxide values decreased, indicating improved lipid stability. These results highlight the key role of drying operations in controlling safety and quality parameters. This industrial case study confirms that effective HACCP implementation relies on a multi-barrier approach combining moisture control and hygienic practices in low moisture foods.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148904170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Survival of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium in Pepperoni With Reduced Salt and Sodium Nitrite Levels, and Sublethal Thermal Treatments","authors":"Shannon Heapes,&nbsp;Victoria Caballero,&nbsp;Jesus Frias,&nbsp;Bradley Afanda,&nbsp;Martin Danaher,&nbsp;Joseph P. Kerry,&nbsp;Geraldine Duffy","doi":"10.1111/jfs.70091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70091","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There is increasing pressure to reduce sodium nitrite and salt levels in processed and fermented meats in response to consumer demands and updated legislation. However, such reductions may impact pathogen control. In this study, the survival of <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> and <i>Salmonella</i> Typhimurium was evaluated in pepperoni produced with reduced salt and sodium nitrite levels, with or without an enhanced postfermentation thermal treatment. Pepperoni batters with formulations varying in sodium nitrite (50–150 ppm) and salt (1.4%–2.5%), were inoculated with cocktails of <i>L. monocytogenes</i> or <i>S.</i> Typhimurium (~log₁₀ 4–6 CFU g⁻¹), subjected to a postfermentation thermal treatment (53.5°C × 61 min; 61°C × 40 min; 64°C × 20 min), and dried to a target water activity of 0.91 or 0.94. Overlay plating was used to enumerate both pathogens, allowing recovery of sublethally injured cells, and residual nitrite was also measured. In the standard formulation reductions of log₁₀ 4.47 CFU g⁻¹ for <i>L. monocytogenes</i> and log₁₀ 4.18 CFU g⁻¹ for <i>S.</i> Typhimurium were observed from prefermentation to endpoint. Formulation 1a, which differed from the standard formulation only in having a lower sodium nitrite level (50 ppm), showed endpoint reductions of log₁₀ 4.21 CFU g⁻¹ for <i>L. monocytogenes</i> and log₁₀ 4.58 CFU g⁻¹ for <i>S.</i> Typhimurium. A similar trend was observed in formulations with reduced sodium nitrite and salt levels. However, formulations subjected to the elevated thermal treatment (61°C × 40 min) showed greater endpoint reductions in both <i>L. monocytogenes</i> and <i>S.</i> Typhimurium compared with formulations processed at 53.5°C × 61 min. Residual nitrite levels at endpoint were well below legal limits across all recipes, reflecting extensive nitrite depletion during fermentation, heating, and drying. These findings demonstrate that pepperoni can be manufactured safely with reduced sodium nitrite and salt when a validated, postfermentation heat treatment is incorporated within a multihurdle system, supporting the feasibility of reformulation under current consumer and regulatory pressures.</p>","PeriodicalId":15814,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Safety","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfs.70091","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148904107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}