FOOD MICROBIOLOGY

Microbiology is important to food safety, production, processing, preservation, and storage. Food microbiology students use a wide variety of modern technologies from fields including immunology, microbiology, and molecular biology. Microbes such as yeasts, molds, and bacteria are being used for the production of foods and food ingredients. Beneficial microbes are exploited in the fermentative production, processing, and preservation of many foods and beverages. Spoilage microorganisms cost food producers, processors, and consumers millions of dollars annually in lost products. Lost productivity resulting from illness caused by foodborne microorganisms is an enormous economic burden throughout the world. The study of food microbiology includes understanding not only the factors influencing the growth of microorganisms in food systems but also the means of controlling them.

Bacteria, yeasts, molds, and viruses are important in food for their ability to cause foodborne diseases and food spoilage and to produce food and food ingredients Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and toxins produced by microorganisms are all possible contaminants of food. Microbiological analysis is important to determine the safety and quality of food. Several species of bacteria, molds, and yeasts are considered safe or food grade, or both, and are used to produce fermented foods and food ingredients. Among the four major groups, bacteria constitute the largest group.

 Factors Affecting Growth of Microorganisms

 The food processor reduces potential problems from microorganisms in several ways:

·         Removing or destroying them by trimming, washing, heating, pickling, by adding chemicals, or by encouraging competition by acid- or alcohol-forming organisms.

·         Minimizing contamination from equipment, people, the environment, and from unprocessed food.

·         Minimizing microbial growth on equipment, by cleaning and sanitizing, and in the product itself by adjusting storage temperature, pH, and other environmental factors.

Human illnesses caused by foodborne microorganisms are popularly referred to as food poisoning. The common use of a single classification is due primarily to similarities of symptoms of various food-related diseases (see Table 5). Apart from illness due to food allergy or food sensitivity, foodborne illness may be divided into two major classes, food infection and food intoxication. Food infection results when foods contaminated with pathogenic, invasive, food poisoning bacteria are eaten. These bacteria then proliferate in the human body and eventually cause illness. Food intoxication follows the ingestion of preformed toxic substances which accumulate during the growth of certain bacterial types in foods.