International Journal of Food Microbiology 55 (2000) 181186

www.elsevier.nl / locate / ijfoodmicro

Review
Basic aspects of food preservation by hurdle technology

Lothar Leistner*
Former Director and Professor of the Federal Centre for Meat Research, An den Weinbergen 20, D-95326 Kulmbach, Germany

Abstract

Hurdle technology is used in industrialized as well as in developing countries for the gentle but effective preservation of
foods. Previously hurdle technology, i.e., a combination of preservation methods, was used empirically without much
knowledge of the governing principles. Since about 20 years the intelligent application of hurdle technology became more
prevalent, because the principles of major preservative factors for foods (e.g., temperature, pH, a w , Eh, competitive flora),
and their interactions, became better known. Recently, the influence of food preservation methods on the physiology and
behaviour of microorganisms in foods, i.e. their homeostasis, metabolic exhaustion, stress reactions, are taken into account,
and the novel concept of multitarget food preservation emerged. In the present contribution a brief introduction is given on
the potential hurdles for foods, the hurdle effect, and the hurdle technology. However, emphasis is placed on the
homeostasis, metabolic exhaustion, and stress reactions of microorganisms related to hurdle technology, and the prospects of
the future goal of a multitarget preservation of foods. 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Food preservation; Hurdle technology; Homeostasis; Metabolic exhaustion; Stress reactions; Multitarget preservation

1. Introduction 1.1. Hurdles in foods

The microbial safety and stability as well as the The most important hurdles used in food preserva-
sensory and nutritional quality of most foods is based tion are temperature (high or low), water activity
on an application of combined preservative factors (a w ), acidity (pH), redox potential (Eh), preserva-
(called hurdles). This is true for traditional foods tives (e.g., nitrite, sorbate, sulfite), and competitive
with inherent empirical hurdles as well as for novel microorganisms (e.g., lactic acid bacteria). However,
products for which the hurdles are intelligently more than 60 potential hurdles for foods, which
selected and then intentionally applied (Leistner, improve the stability and / or quality of the products,
1995a). have been already described, and the list of possible
hurdles for food preservation is by no means com-
plete (Leistner, 1999a). Some hurdles (e.g., Maillard
reaction products) will influence the safety and the
quality of foods, because they have antimicrobial
*Tel: 1 49-9221-2446; fax: 1 49-9221-3779. properties and at the same time improve the flavour
E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Leistner) of the products. The same hurdle could have a

0168-1605 / 00 / $ see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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182 L. Leistner / International Journal of Food Microbiology 55 (2000) 181 186

positive or a negative effect on foods, depending on microbial stability and safety of foods coming from
its intensity. For instance, chilling to an unsuitable future lines, e.g., healthful foods with less fat and / or
low temperature is detrimental to some foods of salt (Leistner, 1997) or advanced hurdle-technology
plant origin (chilling injury), whereas moderate foods requiring only minimal packaging (Kentaro
chilling will be beneficial for their shelf life. Another Ono, Snow Brand Tokyo, Japan, personal communi-
example is the pH of fermented sausage which cation, 1996; Leistner, 1996). For refrigerated foods
should be low enough to inhibit pathogenic bacteria, chill temperatures are the major and sometimes the
but not so low as to impair taste. If the intensity of a only hurdle. However, if exposed to temperature
particular hurdle in a food is too small it should be abuse during distribution of the foods, this hurdle
strengthened, if it is detrimental to the food quality it breaks down, and spoilage or food poisoning could
should be lowered. By this adjustment, hurdles in happen. Therefore, additional hurdles should be
foods can be kept in the optimal range, considering incorporated as safeguards into chilled foods, using
safety as well as quality, and thus the total quality of an approach called invisible technology (Leistner,
a food (Leistner, 1994a). 1999a).
For each stable and safe food a certain set of In developing countries the application of hurdle
hurdles is inherent, which differs in quality and technology for foods that remain stable, safe, and
intensity depending on the particular product, but in tasty if stored without refrigeration is of paramount
any case the hurdles must keep the normal popula- importance, and has made impressive strides, espe-
tion of microorganisms in this food under control. cially in Latin America with the development of
The microorganisms present (at the start) in a food novel minimally processed, high-moisture fruit prod-
should not be able to overcome (leap over) the ucts. However, much interest in intentional hurdle
hurdles present during the storage of a product, technology is also emerging for meat products in
otherwise the food will spoil or even cause food China as well as for dairy products in India. There is
poisoning. This situation is illustrated by the hurdle a general trend in developing countries to move
effect, first introduced by Leistner (1978), which is gradually away from intermediate-moisture foods,
of fundamental importance for the preservation of because they are often too salty or too sweet and
intermediate-moisture foods (Leistner and Rodel, have a less appealing texture and appearance than
1976) as well as high-moisture foods (Leistner et al., high-moisture foods, and this goal could be achieved
1981). by the application of intelligent hurdle technology.
The progress made in the use of advanced hurdle
technology in Latin America, China, India, and
Africa has recently been reviewed by Leistner
2. Hurdle technology (1999b).

From an understanding of the hurdle effect, the

hurdle technology has been derived (Leistner, 1985),
which means that hurdles are deliberately combined 3. Basic aspects
to improve the microbial stability and the sensory
quality of foods as well as their nutritional and Food preservation implies putting microorganisms
economic properties. Thus, hurdle technology aims in a hostile environment, in order to inhibit their
to improve the total quality of foods by application growth or shorten their survival or cause their death.
of an intelligent mix of hurdles. Over the years the The feasible responses of microorganisms to this
insight into the hurdle effect has been broadened and hostile environment determine whether they may
the application of hurdle technology was extended grow or die. More research is needed in view of
(Leistner and Gorris, 1994). these responses; however, recent advances have been
In industrialized countries the hurdle technology made by considering the homeostasis, metabolic
approach is currently of most interest for minimally exhaustion, and stress reactions of microorganisms in
processed foods which are mildly heated or fer- relation to hurdle technology, as well as by intro-
mented (Leistner, 2000), and for underpinning the ducing the novel concept of multitarget preservation
 L. Leistner / International Journal of Food Microbiology 55 (2000) 181 186 183

for a gentle but most effective preservation of heat treatment are able to germinate in these foods
hurdle-technology foods (Leistner, 1995a,b). under less favourable conditions than those under
which vegetative bacteria are able to multiply (Leis-
3.1. Homeostasis tner, 1992). Thus, the spore counts in stable hurdle-
technology foods actually decrease during storage of
Homeostasis is the tendency to uniformity and the products, especially in unrefrigerated foods. Also
stability in the internal status of organisms. For during studies in our laboratory with Chinese dried
instance, the maintenance of a defined pH is a meat products the same behaviour of microorganisms
prerequisite and feature of living cells, and this was observed. If these meats were contaminated after
applies to higher organisms as well as to micro- processing with staphylococci, salmonellae or yeasts,

organisms (Haussinger, 1988). Much is already the counts of these microorganisms on stable prod-
known about homeostasis in higher organisms at the ucts decreased quite fast during unrefrigerated stor-
molecular, subcellular, cellular, and systemic levels age, especially on meats with a water activity close
in the fields of pharmacology and medicine (Hauss- to the threshold for microbial growth. Latin Ameri-
inger, 1988). This knowledge should be transfered to can researchers (Alzamora et al., 1995; Tapia de
microorganisms important for the poisoning and Daza et al., 1996) observed the same phenomenon in
spoilage of foods. In food preservation the homeosta- studies with high-moisture fruit products, because
sis of microorganisms is a key phenomenon which the counts of a variety of bacteria, yeasts, and
deserves much attention, because if the homeostasis moulds which survived the mild heat treatment,
of these microorganisms is disturbed by preservative decreased fast in the products during unrefrigerated
factors (hurdles) in foods, they will not multiply, i.e. storage, since the hurdles applied (pH, a w , sorbate,
they remain in the lag-phase or even die, before sulfite) did not allow growth.
homeostasis is repaired (re-established). Therefore, A general explanation for this surprising behaviour
food preservation is achieved by disturbing the might be that vegetative microorganisms which
homeostasis of microorganisms in a food temporarily cannot grow will die, and they die more quickly if
or permanently. Gould (1988, 1995) was the first to the stability is close to the threshold for growth,
draw attention to the interference by the food with storage temperature is elevated, antimicrobials are
the homeostasis of the microorganisms present in present, and the microorganisms are sublethally
this food, and more work in this direction is certainly injured (Leistner, 1995a). Apparently, microorga-
warranted. nisms in stable hurdle-technology foods strain every
possible repair mechanisms for their homeostasis to
3.2. Metabolic exhaustion overcome the hostile environment, by doing this they
completely use up their energy and die, if they
Another phenomenon of practical importance is become metabolically exhausted. This leads to an
metabolic exhaustion of microorganisms, which autosterilization of such foods (Leistner, 1995b).
could cause autosterilization of a food. This was Due to autosterilization hurdle-technology foods,
first observed in experiments with mildly heated which are microbiologically stable, become more
(958C core temperature) liver sausage adjusted to safe during storage, especially at ambient tempera-
different water activities by the addition of salt and tures. For example, salmonellae that survive the
fat, and the product was inoculated with Clostridium ripening process in fermented sausages will vanish
sporogenes and stored at 378C. Clostridial spores more quickly if the products are stored at ambient
surviving the heat treatment vanished in the product temperature, and they will survive longer and pos-
during storage, if the products were stable (Leistner sibly cause foodborne illness if the products are
and Karan-Djurdjic, 1970). Later this behaviour of stored under refrigeration (Leistner, 1995a). It is also
Clostridium and Bacillus spores was regularly ob- well known that salmonellae survive in mayonnaise
served during storage of shelf stable meat products at chill temperatures much better than at ambient
(SSP), if these products were stored at ambient temperatures. Unilever laboratories at Vlaardingen
temperature (Leistner, 1994b). The most likely ex- have confirmed metabolic exhaustion in water-in-oil
planation is that bacterial spores which survive the emulsions (resembling margarine) inoculated with
184 L. Leistner / International Journal of Food Microbiology 55 (2000) 181 186

Listeria innocua. In these products listeria vanished 3.4. Multitarget preservation

faster at ambient temperature (258C) than under
refrigeration (78C), at pH 4.25 . pH 4.3 . pH 6.0, in The concept of multitarget preservation of foods
fine emulsions more quickly than in coarse emul- has been introduced recently by Leistner (1995a,b).
sions, under anaerobic conditions more quickly than Multitarget preservation of foods should be the
under aerobic conditions. From these experiments it ambitious goal for a gentle but most effective
has been concluded that metabolic exhaustion is preservation of foods (Leistner, 1995b). It has been
accelerated if more hurdles are present, and this suspected for some time that different hurdles in a
might be caused by increasing energy demands to food might not have just an additive effect on
maintain internal homeostasis under stress conditions microbial stability, but they could act synergistically
(P.F. ter Steeg, personal communication, 1995). (Leistner, 1978). A synergistic effect could be
Thus, it could be concluded that refrigeration is not achieved if the hurdles in a food hit, at the same
always beneficial for the microbial safety and stabili- time, different targets (e.g., cell membrane, DNA,
ty of foods. However, this is only true if the hurdles enzyme systems, pH, a w , Eh) within the microbial
present in a food inhibit the growth of microorga- cells and thus disturb the homeostasis of the micro-
nisms also without refrigeration, if this is not the organisms present in several respects. If so, the
case then refrigeration is beneficial. Certainly, the repair of homeostasis as well as the activation of
survival of microorganisms in stable hurdle-technol- stress shock proteins become more difficult (Leis-
ogy foods is much shorter without refrigeration. tner, 1995a). Therefore, employing simultaneously
different hurdles in the preservation of a particular
3.3. Stress reactions food should lead to optimal microbial stability. In
practical terms, this could mean that it is more
Some bacteria become more resistant or even effective to employ different preservative factors
more virulent under stress, since they generate stress (hurdles) of small intensity than one preservative
shock proteins. The synthesis of protective stress factor of larger intensity, because different preserva-
shock proteins is induced by heat, pH, a w , ethanol, tive factors might have a synergistic effect (Leistner,
oxidative compounds, etc. as well as by starvation. 1994a).
Stress reactions might have a non-specific effect, It is anticipated that the targets in microorganisms
since due to a particular stress microorganisms of different preservative factors for foods will be
become also more tolerant to other stresses, i.e. they elucidated, and that hurdles could then be grouped in
acquire a cross-tolerance. The various responses of classes according to their targets. A mild and effec-
microorganisms under stress might hamper food tive preservation of foods, i.e. a synergistic effect of
preservation and could turn out to be problematic for hurdles, is likely if the preservation measures are
the application of hurdle technology. On the other based on intelligent selection and combination of
hand, the activation of genes for the synthesis of hurdles taken from different target classes (Leistner,
stress shock proteins, which help organisms to cope 1995a). This approach is probably not only valid for
with stress situations, should be more difficult if traditional food-preservation procedures, but as well
different stresses are received at the same time. for modern processes such as food irradiation, ultra-
Simultaneous exposure to different stresses will
high pressure, pulsed technologies (Barbosa-Canovas
require energy-consuming synthesis of several or at et al., 1998). Food microbiologists could learn from
least much more protective stress shock proteins, pharmacologists, because the mechanisms of action
which in turn may cause the microorganisms to of biocides have been studied extensively in the
become metabolically exhausted. Therefore, multi- medical field. At least 12 classes of biocides are
target preservation of foods could be the key to already known which have different targets, and
avoiding synthesis of stress shock proteins, which sometimes more than one, within the microbial cell.
otherwise could jeopardize the microbial stability Often the cell membrane is the primary target,
and safety of hurdle-technology foods (Leistner, becoming leaky and disrupting the organism, but
1995b). biocides also impair the synthesis of enzymes,
 L. Leistner / International Journal of Food Microbiology 55 (2000) 181 186 185

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