Effect of Lemon Balm and Spearmint Extracts on the Survival of <i>S. aureus</i> in Goat’s Raw Milk Cheese

Abstract

A previous investigation from our research group has revealed that lemon balm and spearmint hydroethanolic extracts present high inhibitory capacity in vitro against S. aureus. Raw milk cheeses have exhibited moderate prevalence of S. aureus, thus imposing a safety issue for consumers. In this sense, our work aimed to evaluate the antibacterial effect of lemon balm and spearmint extracts against S. aureus in goat’s raw milk cheeses during maturation, and to characterise the survival kinetic parameters of this pathogen by extended Bigelow models.

Keywords

• log–decay model with tail
• Bigelow model
• <i>D</i>-value
• <i>z_pH</i>
• dairy
• predictive microbiology