Tahini (sesame seed paste) is a low water activity product that has been involved in several salmonellosis outbreaks. The objectives of the study were to examine over a year the impact of a w and storage temperature of tahini on the viability of Salmonella serovars previously stressed by drying or heat exposure. Tahini samples adjusted to a w values of 0.17, 0.35 and 0.50 were inoculated with a mixed culture containing 10 6-10 7 CFU/g of 4 serovars of unstressed, desiccation-or heat-stressed Salmonella and stored for up to 12 months at 10 and 25 °C. Generally, viability of stressed or unstressed Salmonella decreased as the storage temperature and time increased or the a w of tahini decreased. The survival of stressed or unstressed Salmonella in all samples decreased during storage for up to 12 months by ca. 6.0 and 3.3log 10 CFU/g, respectively. Exposing Salmonella to heat stress had no significant effect on survival in tahini, while desiccation stress significantly decreased survival during storage, especially at 25 °C in low a w tahini.