When compared to conventionally-processed foods (such as
pasteurised or UHT foods), many minimally-processed foods have
more desirable organoleptic properties and greater nutritional
value, and thus are of higher value for consumers (Pasha et al., 2014;
Ragaert et al., 2004). However, elimination of harsh processing steps
shortens shelf life by failing to eliminate spoilage microorganisms. As
such, it is desirable to understand the effects of the composition of
minimally processed foods on bacterial physiology, such that the food
might be engineered to decrease growth of spoilage microorganisms
and thus increase product shelf life.