Optimizing antimicrobial dosing of bacterial isolates from sugar beet factories to reduce sucrose losses.

Bacterial growth in sugar beet factories results in sucrose losses and operational challenges during raw sugar extraction, resulting in lost revenue. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of antimicrobial agents were measured by microdilution assay for optimized dosing to control 58 selected bacterial isolates previously obtained from sugar beet factory juices and biofilms. Hops BetaStab XL was effective against most gram-positive bacteria at 16 ppm with the exception of a few resistant IMPORTANCE: Optimal antimicrobial dosing to control key microorganisms in sugar beet factories is central to mitigating sucrose losses during sugar beet processing and preventing the additional operational challenges that often result from the production of bacterial exopolysaccharides. This study demonstrates that some antimicrobial agents effectively control key bacteria at lower concentrations while others exhibit broad variability in MIC. Additionally, elevated temperatures of factory water and juices above 50°C are another option for controlling some important microbes.