When is simple good enough: A comparison of the Gompertz, Baranyi, and three-phase linear models for fitting bacterial growth curves

The use of primary mathematical models with curve fitting software is dramatically changing quantitative food microbiology. The two most widely used primary growth models are the Baranyi and Gompertz models. A three-phase linear model was developed to determine how well growth curves could be described using a simpler model. The model divides bacterial growth curves into three phases: the lag and stationary phases where the specific growth rate is zero (mu=0), and the exponential phase where the logarithm of the bacterial population increases linearly with time (mu=constant). The model has four parameters: N-0 (Log(10) of initial population density), NMAX (Log(10) of final population density), hac (time when lag phase ends), and tMax (time when exponential phase ends). A comparison of the linear model was made against the Baranyi and Gompertz models, using established growth data for Escherichia coli 0157:H7. The growth curves predicted by the three models showed good agreement. The linear model was more 'robust' than the others, especially when experimental data were minimal. The physiological assumptions underlying the linear model are discussed, with particular emphasis on assuring that the model is consistent with bacterial behavior both as individual cells and as populations. it is proposed that the transitional behavior of bacteria at the end of the lag phase can be explained on the basis of biological variability. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.