Use of Linear Models for Thermal Processing of Acidified Foods

Acidified vegetable products with a pH above 3.3 must be heat processed to assure the destruction of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, and other pathogenic bacteria that might be present in the product. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration has required that linear models for heat process data be used with electronic process filing forms. Existing recommendations for heat processing acidified vegetables are based on non-linear (Weibull and exponential decay) models. We report here the parameters for a linear model that meets or exceeds the established heat processing conditions needed to assure safety