stated that the main preservative
(antimicrobial) mechanism of salt (NaCl) is via a reduction
of aw. The reduction in aw is tolerated to a certain extent by the
intracellular accumulation of low molecular weight osmotically active
substances called ‘compatible solutes’ (Chirife et al., 1983). In bacteria
these ‘compatible solutes’ include amino acids such as L-proline
and L-glutamate