Microbiology of sous-vide products

Sous-vide foods are vacuum packed and usually immersed in hot water for cooking. This quite recently developed technology offers new culinary and technical possibilities in food preparation. Because of mild processing, sous-vide foods are nonsterile by design. The major microbial hazards in sous-vide foods are the pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes , Clostridium botulinum , and Bacillus cereus . These pathogenic bacteria and those causing spoilage are controlled by an appropriate combination of heat during processing, rapid cooling, refrigeration during storage, and shelf-life duration. Several recommendations for the safety of sous-vide foods have been proposed worldwide.