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19 June 2013 | By Evangelina Komitopoulou, SGS, Larry Beuchat, Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia
Until recently, there has been a common belief that low numbers of microbial food contaminants should not be a major issue in low-water activity (aw) foods where growth does not occur. However, depending on its end usage or target population, low numbers of pathogens can lead to foodborne illness, hence…
6 November 2012 | By François Bourdichon, Nestlé Research Centre; Joerg Seifert, International Dairy Federation and Egon Bech Hansen, Technical University of Denmark
Fermentation as a chemical process was initially described in the mid-19th century by Louis Pasteur as ‘a vie sans l’air’, the metabolic process of deriving energy from organic compounds without the involvement of an exogenous oxidising agent. Fermentation, as a process for manufacturing fermented foods, is today used more broadly…
When choosing an RMM for your company, there are many factors to consider. It is critical to understand exactly what your company needs in order to perform most efficiently and effectively. When these factors drive the purchase decision, you will be able to implement the best system for your company…
Milk is a highly perishable food so to enable it to be stored and distributed for consumption without spoilage, and without being a health risk through growth of pathogenic bacteria, it is heat treated. The most common type of heat treatment in many parts of the world is pasteurisation, which…
3 July 2012 | By François Bourdichon and Katia Rouzeau, Food Safety Microbiology, Quality and Safety Department, Nestlé Research Centre
‘Something is fishy’ is a widely used expression over a doubtful, suspicious situation, a good example of how mankind has taken advantage of microbial spoilage to assess the wholesomeness of a food product. The reduction of trimethylamine oxide to trimethylamine by bacteria associated primarily with the marine environment (e.g. Alteromonas…
3 July 2012 | By Dr Evangelia Komitopoulou, Head of Food Safety, Leatherhead Food Research
Many bacteria are able to attach to and colonise environmental surfaces by producing a biofilm, which allows the organisms to persist in the environment and resist desiccation, UV light and treatment with antimicrobials and sanitising agents. Biofilms are formed when microbes attach to a solid support and to each other…
4 January 2012 | By John Holah and Edyta Margas, Campden BRI and Robert Hagburg, Benjamin Warren, Judy Fraser-Heaps and Sara Mortimore, Land O’Lakes
This article introduces concepts and ideas about the nature and potential control of microbiological cross-contamination in a food manufacturing environment. The concepts and opinions shared do not necessarily represent the policies and/or programs used by the companies represented by the authors. Microbiological cross-contamination has been a contributing factor to several…
4 January 2012 | By Brigitte Carpentier, Senior Scientist, ANSES and Olivier Cerf, Professor Emeritus, Alfort Veterinary School
Severe listeriosis (which can cause meningitis, septicemia, or still birth) is an infrequent foodborne illness. Yet, because of its high lethality (between 15 and 30 per cent) its causal agent, Listeria monocytogenes, is perceived as a major threat. Outbreaks of listeriosis were not overly common over the last 30 years,…
5 November 2010 | By François Bourdichon & Mohamed Hedi Ben Cheikh, Food Safety Centre, Danone Corporate
Mathematics is everywhere. One might go into the field of biology to avoid numbers and equations, yet they are still there, helping food technologists to decipher the behaviour of micro-organisms in different food matrices and along the process chain. Since the negation of the spontaneous generation theory by Louis Pasteur…
As a new analytical service BIOTECON Diagnostics is now offering the detection of Mycoplasma in cell cultures and cell culture products.
30 June 2010 | By Byron Brehm-Stecher, Assistant Professor, Rapid Microbial Detection and Control Laboratory, Iowa State University
Today’s food production and distribution networks are extremely efficient. We are able to move food from the field to the table rapidly and effectively – on a global scale – under conditions that maximise quality, visual appeal and nutritional content. Unfortunately, toxigenic or infectious microbes may also come along for…
15 June 2010 | By Oxoid
Oxoid reports that its agar for identifying Bacillus cereus can accurately test food and beverages for this illness-causing micro-organism.
12 December 2009 | By Anett Winkler, Corporate Microbiology, Kraft Foods R&D
For many years, low moisture foods, such as chocolate, were regarded as microbiologically safe due to the inherent product characteristics. Water activity levels below 0.6 would prevent any microbial growth, whereas water activities below 0.85 would prevent proliferation of pathogenic / toxin formation by toxigenic microorganisms[1]. A water activity of…
1 November 2009 | By Neogen Europe
Neogen has developed a disposable membrane filtration system that utilises ampouled media to provide a complete solution to enumerate and detect a wide variety of microorganisms in liquid samples.
10 September 2009 | By Adem Gharsallaoui, Temporary Associate Professor, AgroSup Dijon (France)
The food industry uses more and more purified natural and synthetic fragile substances today, and consequently, there is an increased need to protect these ingredients. Functional food ingredients, such as flavours, vitamins or antioxidants, are sensitive to environmental stress during manufacturing, storage and consumption of the food product. Furthermore, loss…
