Abstract:Staphylococcus aureus is one of the common pathogens that threaten the food safety of roasted duck and other cooked meat products. The objective of this study was to investigate the growth characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus in roasted duck under different storage temperatures, then to develop and evaluate relevant dynamic models. The roasted duck samples inoculated with a 2-strain cocktail of Staphylococcus aureus were stored at 12, 16, 20, 25, 30 and 35 ℃, respectively, to observe the growth during storage. The one-step approach was used analyze the growth data of Staphylococcus aureus, and then to construct a combined growth model including the primary model (Huang model, Baranyi model, or Two Compartment model) and the secondary model (Huang Square Root (HSR) model). The results showed that Huang-HSR model, Baranyi-HSR model and Two Compartment-HSR model had an equal fitting effect. The minimum growth temperature and maximum cell density of Staphylococcus aureus estimated by the three combined models were 8.29, 8.74, 8.74 ℃, and 9.31, 9.32, and 9.32 lg(CFU/g), respectively. The Huang-HSR model and its parameters were verified by the growth experiment of Staphylococcus aureus in roasted duck under another 4 groups of dynamic temperature profiles. The RMSE of the predicted value was between 0.28 and 0.40 lg(CFU/g), indicating that the prediction model constructed has high accuracy. The model was then used to simulate the dynamic growth of Staphylococcus aureus under real environmental temperature of roast duck restaurant and artificially set fluctuating temperatures to demonstrate its potential application. The models developed in this study can be used to predict the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in roasted duck.