Consistent with the current study, Salmonella levels have also
been shown to slowly decline during low-temperature storage (−20
to 5 °C) on inoculated pecan kernels, inshell pecans, crushed hazelnut
shells, and crushed cocoa shells (Beuchat and Heaton, 1975; Beuchat
and Mann, 2010a; Komitopoulou and Peñaloza, 2009). The differences
in low-temperature survival among different nuts may be linked to
available nutrients and/or protectants on the surface of the inshell or
kernel, the bacterial strain, the inoculation procedure, or other storage
variables (e.g., humidity)