Yamamoto
et al. (13) characterized the fate of non pathogenic E. coli
and Staphylococcus aureus in soy sauce not containing preservatives.
The cell numbers of 1×103
, 1×105
, and 1×107
of bacteria in 1 ml of soy sauce decreased to undetectable level
within 4–6 h, 24–48 h and 5–7 d, respectively. They showed
that the antimicrobial activity of soy sauce is mainly based
on the combined effects of NaCl, ethanol, pH, preservatives
and temperature (14).