Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris:: An increasing threat to the fruit juice industry?

The quality of food can be defined in various ways with processors and consumers considering flavour, odour and appearance as well as extended shelf life among the most important of its attributes. Spoilage of food by bacterial contamination may occur at any point during the processing, altering any one, or all, of these characteristics, rendering the product unusable. Alicyclobacillus spp. and Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris, in particular, are emerging food spoilage organisms in the fruit juice and fruit juice products industry. Spores of the latter are able to survive heat treatments presently used in the industry and their elimination from products may be used as a measure of the effectiveness of any processing protocol to remove potential spoilage. This paper reviews the history, methods of detection, both traditional and rapid and the protocols that may be effective in controlling the growth of the organism and hence spoilage in the finished product.