Table 10.

Effect of water activity on the viability of B. subtilis HU58 spores in cookies.

Time (months)	Freezer temperature (−18°C)	Refrigerator temperature (4°C)	Room temperature (25°C)
1	0.54 ± 0.0 A	0.63 ± 0.1 A	0.53 ± 0.0 A
2	0.54 ± 0.0 A	0.55 ± 0.1 A	0.59 ± 0.1 A
4	0.57 ± 0.0 A	0.49 ± 0.0 B	0.57 ± 0.0 A
6	0.55 ± 0.0 A	0.46 ± 0.1 A	0.58 ± 0.0 A
8	0.62 ± 0.0 A	0.44 ± 0.1 A	0.49 ± 0.1 A
10	0.58 ± 0.0 A	0.36 ± 0.1 B	0.34 ± 0.0 B
12	0.56 ± 0.0 A	0.31 ± 0.0 B	0.37 ± 0.0 C

Note: Different capital letters (A) in the same row denote significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in log reductions between the different holding temperatures.