Stabilization of cooked pasta compositions using whey from nisin-producing cultures

The present invention provides fully cooked, ready to heat and serve pasta compositions which are stabilized against the development of toxins from pathogenic bacterial contaminants under refrigeration conditions for 120 days or more. The stabilized pasta compositions are attained by the incorporation of nisin-containing cultured whey derived from a nisin-producing culture. The pasta of the present invention is prepared from pasta dough comprising about 55 to about 80 percent high protein wheat flour, about 1 to about 5 percent wheat gluten, 0 to about 20 percent egg product, 0 to about 3 percent dough conditioner, sufficient nisin-containing cultured whey to provide about 200 to about 1200 IU nisin/g pasta dough, and sufficient water to provide a total moisture content of about 25 to about 35 percent.