Description
Food quality and safety is a progressively important public health issue. These days, the topics “food quality” and “food safety” are very close and two important issues in the food sector, due to the globalization of the food supply and the increased complexity of the food chain. Food spoilage is a metabolic process that causes foods to be undesirable or unacceptable for human consumption due to changes in sensory characteristics. Food loss, from farm to fork, causes considerable environmental and economic effects. From the study of foodborne pathogens, we know that foodborne pathogens are widely distributing and it is not realistic to avoid absolutely the contamination of any of these pathogens. The wide array of available dairy foods challenges the microbiologist, engineer, and technologist to find the best ways to prevent the entry of microorganisms, destroy those that do get in along with their enzymes, and prevent the growth and activities of those that escape processing treatments.
Food Spoilage Microorganisms: Ecology and Control focuses on the occurrence, outbreak, consequences, control, and evaluation of spoilage microorganisms in food. It will emphasize spoilage caused by microorganisms and will consider spoilage of foods that people purchase or consume. The control, prevention, and management options for spoilage microorganisms are also presented. It also evaluates the role of microbiological activity in the development and changes of different sensory quality factors (visual, flavor, and textural quality) of minimally processed foods and evaluates the possible interaction with physiological mechanisms, taking into account important preservation techniques such as storage temperature and atmospheric conditions.
The contamination of food products with microorganisms presents a problem of global concern, since the growth and metabolism of microorganisms can cause serious foodborne intoxications and a rapid spoilage of the food products. Thus, the acceptance and safety of a food product for the consumers depends in great part on the presence and nature of microorganisms.
