Divergent Primary Growth Kinetics of Aerobic mesophilic and Staphylococcus aureus in Guinea Pig Meat Burgers Under Controlled Temperature

Temperature abuse during storage represents a critical factor influencing microbial behavior in meat products, particularly in non-conventional matrices such as guinea pig meat. This study aimed to characterize and compare the primary growth kinetics of Aerobic mesophilic bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in guinea pig meat burgers under controlled temperature abuse conditions (30, 35, and 40 °C). Microbial growth was monitored over 96 h and described using the modified Gompertz model to estimate key kinetic parameters, including maximum specific growth rate (µmax) and lag phase duration (λ). Aerobic mesophilic bacteria exhibited increasing µmax values with temperature, indicating enhanced metabolic activity under elevated thermal conditions. In contrast, S. aureus showed reduced µmax and prolonged λ at 40 °C, suggesting stress-induced modulation of growth dynamics. These findings demonstrate that temperature increases do not uniformly accelerate microbial proliferation across different populations within the same food matrix. The contrasting kinetic responses indicate that Aerobic mesophilic bacteria and S. aureus respond differently to temperature abuse conditions, highlighting that total aerobic counts alone may not reliably predict pathogen behavior in guinea pig meat burgers.