TESTING TWO MODELS FOR THE TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF THE HEAT INACTIVATION RATE OF Bacillus stearothermophilus SPORES

Spores of B. stearothermophilus were heated in a neutral phosphate buffer at temperatures between 111°C and 125°C. A statistical analysis was made to find out how well the temperature dependence of the inactivation rate constants could be described by the Arrhenius equation and the commonly used z‐value. The results showed that both models are very good linear regression models, but have a significant lack of fit. Far reaching extrapolations of data by using these models, for example, to very high temperatures should therefore be avoided.