Basics of Food

Microbiology
 The Scope of Food Microbiology

MICROORGANISMS AND FOOD

• The foods that we eat are rarely if ever sterile, they carry microbial
associations whose composition depends upon which organisms gain
access and how they grow, survive and interact in the food over time.

• The micro-organisms present will originate from the natural micro-flora of

the raw material and those organisms introduced in the course of
harvesting/slaughter, processing, storage and distribution
 • Spoilage microorganisms cause a food to
smell, taste, and look unacceptable
• Food preservation techniques based on
sound, if then unknown, microbiological
principles were developed empirically to
arrest or retard the natural processes of
decay.
Food • The staple foods for most parts of the world
Spoilage/Preservation were the seeds – rice, wheat, sorghum,
millet, maize, oats and barley – which would
keep for one or two seasons if adequately
dried
• Most early methods of food preservation
depended largely on water activity
reduction in the form of solar drying, salting,
storing in concentrated sugar solutions or
smoking over a fire.
 Food Safety

Divided into causitive categories called “hazards”

• Biological Hazards - bacteria, molds, natural occurring toxins
• Chemical Hazards – chemicals like petroleum, herbicides, pesticides, heavy
metals.
• Physical Hazards – glass, rocks, wood splinters
Pathogenic, or disease causing, microorganisms can cause illness
 Food safety controls
HAZARDS to the consumer.
• A foodborne hazard is a
Food Safety vs. biological, chemical, or physical
property that may cause a food to
Food Quality be unsafe for human consumption

Food quality controls

deterioration of food to an
unacceptable state
 Fermentation

Fermentation microorganisms produce a desired food product

Microbes can however play a positive role in food.

They can be consumed as foods in themselves as in the edible fungi, mycoprotein and algae.

They can also effect desirable transformations in a food, changing its properties in a way that is
beneficial.

Other microorganisms do nothing in foods

 MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Food microbiology is unashamedly an applied science and the food

microbiologist’s principal function is to help assure a supply of wholesome and
safe food to the consumer
• To do this requires the synthesis and systematic application of our knowledge
of the microbial ecology of foods and the effects of processing to the
practical problem of producing, economically and consistently, foods which
have good keeping qualities and are safe to eat.
 • Foods, by their very nature, need to be
nutritious and metabolizable and it
should be expected that they will offer
suitable substrates for the growth and
metabolism of micro-organisms.
Micro-
organisms and • Before dealing with the details of the
factors influencing this microbial activity,
Food Materials and their significance in the safe
handling of foods, it is useful to examine
the possible sources of micro-organisms
in order to understand the ecology of
contamination.
Where are the
microorganisms?
DIVERSITY OF
HABITAT
• Viable micro-organisms may
be found in a very wide
range of habitats, from the
coldest of brine ponds in
the frozen wastes of polar
regions, to the almost
boiling water of hot springs.
 • Soil & Water
• Plants/Products
• Utensils/Equipment
• Gastrointestinal Tract
Where are • Food Handlers
microorganisms? • Animal Feeds
• Animal Hides
• Air & Dust
• EVERYWHERE!
 • one of the most hostile environments for
many micro-organisms

• Suspended in the air, the tiny microbial

propagule may be subjected to desiccation,
MICRO- to the damaging effects of radiant energy
ORGANISMS from the sun, and the chemical activity of
IN THE elemental gaseous oxygen (O2) to which it
will be intimately exposed.
ATMOSPHERE
• Many micro-organisms, especially Gram-
negative bacteria, do indeed die very
rapidly when suspended in air
 Airborne Bacteria

• The bacterial flora can be shown to be dominated by Gram-positive rods and cocci unless there
has been a very recent contamination of the air by an aerosol generated from an animal or human
source, or from water.

• The pigmented colonies will often be of micrococci or corynebacterial and the large white-to-cream
coloured colonies will frequently be of aerobic sporeforming rods of the genus Bacillus

• There may also be small raised, tough colonies of the filamentous bacteria belonging to
Streptomyces or a related genus of actinomycetes. The possession of pigments may protect micro-
organisms from damage by both visible and ultraviolet radiation of sunlight and the relatively
simple, thick cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria may afford protection from desiccation.
 Airborne Fungi

• It is possible to regard the evolution of many of the terrestrial filamentous

fungi (the moulds) as the development of increasingly sophisticated
mechanisms for the air dispersal of their reproductive propagules.
• Some of the most important moulds in food microbiology do not have active
spore dispersal mechanisms but produce large numbers of small unwettable
spores which are resistant to desiccation and light damage.
• They become airborne in the same way as fine dry dust particles by physical
disturbance and wind.
 • The soil environment is
extremely complex and
different soils have their own
diverse flora of bacteria, fungi,
protozoa and algae.
MICRO- • The soil is such a rich reservoir
of micro-organisms that it has
ORGANISMS provided many of the strains
used for the industrial
OF SOIL production of antibiotics,
enzymes, amino acids, vitamins
and other products used in both
the pharmaceutical and food
industries.
 MICRO-ORGANISMS OF WATER

• The aquatic environment represents in area and volume the largest

part of the biosphere and both fresh water and the sea contain many
species of micro-organisms adapted to these particular habitats.

• The bacteria isolated from the waters of the open oceans often have a
physiological requirement for salt, grow best at the relatively low
temperatures of the oceans and are nutritionally adapted to the
relatively low concentrations of available organic and nitrogenous
compounds.
 • Thus, from the point of view of a laboratory
routinely handling bacteria from
environments directly associated with man,
marine bacteria are usually described as
oligotrophic psychrophiles with a
requirement for sodium chloride for
optimum growth.
MICRO- • The surfaces of fish caught from cold water
in the open sea will have a bacterial flora
ORGANISMS which reflects their environment and will thus
contain predominantly psychrophilic and
OF WATER psychotropic species.
• Many of these organisms can break down
macromolecules, such as proteins,
polysaccharides and lipids, and they may
have doubling times as short as ten hours at
refrigeration temperatures of 0–7 1C.
 MICRO-ORGANISMS OF WATER

• The seas around the coasts are influenced by inputs of terrestrial

and freshwater micro-organisms and, perhaps more importantly, by
human activities.
• The sea has become a convenient dump for sewage and other waste
products and, although it is true that the seas have an enormous
capacity to disperse such materials and render them harmless, the
scale of human activity has had a detrimental effect on coastal
waters.
 MICRO-ORGANISMS
OF WATER
• Many shellfish used for food grow in these
polluted coastal waters and the majority feed by
filtering out particles from large volumes of sea
water. If these waters have been contaminated
with sewage there is always the risk that enteric
organisms from infected individuals may be
present and will be concentrated by the filter
feeding activities of shellfish.
• Severe diseases such as hepatitis or typhoid
fever, and milder illnesses such as gastroenteritis
have been caused by eating contaminated
oysters and mussels which seem to be perfectly
normal in taste and appearance.
 MICRO-ORGANISMS OF PLANTS

• All plant surfaces have a natural flora of micro-organisms which may be

sufficiently specialized to be referred to as the phylloplane flora, for that of
the leaf surface, and the rhizoplane flora for the surface of the roots.
• The numbers of organisms on the surfaces of healthy, young plant leaves may
be quite low but the species which do occur are well adapted for this highly
specialized environment. Moulds such as Cladosporium and the so-called
black yeast, Aureobasidium pullulans, are frequently present.
MICRO-ORGANISMS OF PLANTS
In the field the senescent plant structures carrying the cereal grain may become
infected by a group of fungi, referred to as the field fungi, which includes such
genera as Cladosporium, Alternaria, Helminthosporium and Chaetomium.

After harvest and reduction of the moisture content of the grain, the components of
the field flora decrease in numbers and are replaced by a storage flora which
characteristically includes species of the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus.

Some genera of fungi, such as Fusarium, contain a spectrum of species, some of

which are specialized plant pathogens, others saprophytic field fungi and others
capable of growth during the initial stages of storage.
 • From a topological point of view, the gut is also
part of the external surface of an animal
• The Skin
• The surfaces of humans and other animals
are exposed to air, soil and water and
MICRO- there will always be the possibility of
contamination of foods and food handling
ORGANISMS equipment and surfaces with these
environmental microbes by direct contact
OF ANIMAL with the animal surface.
• The Nose and Throat
ORIGIN • The nose and throat with the mucous
membranes which line them represent even
more specialized environments and are
colonized by a different group of micro-
organisms.
Types of microorganism and characteristics
 • Commensal
• ubiquitous
• harmless or beneficial
• Spoilage
General Roles • Cause food to become inedible due to
changes in color, flavor, odor, appearance
of or texture.
Microorganisms • Grow to high levels and break down
food components
• Commensal organisms that have reached
high populations (105-107 CFU/g)
• Different products have different
spoilage flora
General Characteristics of Microorganisms

Beneficial Pathogens
Used as an aid in producing desirable Cause foodborne illness
characteristics in food Microorganisms that are usually associated with
the presence of pathogens are called “Indicators”.
Most E coli do not cause illness.
 Bacterial
Classifications
• Bacteria can be classified in a
number of ways.
• Their shape
• Round=cocci; Elongated=rods
 Spores

• Spore forming; Some rod shaped bacteria are spore formers. This is a
dormant stage in their life cycle.
• These spores have the ability to survive a wide range of environmental
extremes.
• They can survive heating up to 212F and are resistant to most chemicals
including sanitizing solutions. The most noteworthy spore former is Clostridium
botulinum.
 Spores Þ dormant Vegetative state Þ
state active state
• Much more resistant • More susceptible to
to environmental inactivation
stresses (heat, cold,
chemicals)

Spores
 Temperature and Growth
• PSYCHROPHILE:
• Grow from 1-20oC
• EXAMPLES: Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium,
Alcaligenes
• PSYCHROTROPHIC:
• Grow best at 37oC, but can grow at
refrigeration (3-7oC)
• EXAMPLE: Listeria monocytogenes
• MESOPHILE:
• Optimum temperature 20-40oC
• Group containing most human pathogens
• EXAMPLES: E. coli, Salmonella, Clostridium
botulinum
• THERMOPHILE:
• Optimum temp >45oC
• EXAMPLE: Bacillus stearothermophilus
 • Low Temperatures
• Refrigeration (40-45oF) slows or stops bacterial
growth
• Freezing stops bacterial growth

Low and High • High Temperatures

• Heating (165oF or higher) destroys bacteria for
Temperatures immediate service foods served in restaurants and
homes.
• Thermal processing of shelf stable foods (180 -
250oF) destroys bacteria for longer shelf-life foods –
temperature dependent upon product acidity
• Low acid canned foods – inactivation of C. botulinum
Reproduction of Bacterial Cells

• Reproduced by division
• Referred to as “growth”
• Under optimum conditions a cell
divides every 20-30 minutes
Growth of Bacteria • Binary Fission
 Factors affecting microbial growth

F – FOOD A – ACIDITY T– T – TIME O – OXYGEN M–

TEMPERATURE MOISTURE
 • For growth,
microorganisms require the
Food – following:
• Water
Nutrients • Source of energy
Content • Source of nitrogen
• Vitamins & related
growth factors
• Minerals
 • Optimal pH for growth: 6.0 – 8.0

Food Acidity • Disease causing bacteria: 4.6 - 9.5

• Spoilage bacteria: 1.5 - 9.5
pH – growth range
in food
 Optimal Growth

• Thermophiles – like hot

conditions
• Mesophiles – like warm
conditions (around body
T =Temperature temperature)
• Psychrotrophs – can grow at
refrigeration temperatures

Most pathogens are

mesophiles
 • Based on optimum temperature for
growth;
• Psychro=cold
Temperature • Meso = middle
Classifications • Thermo= warm
• Trophic =growing
• Duric=withstand
• Phil or philic-prefers or loves
Categories of
Microbes Based
on Temperature
Range
 • Under optimal conditions, some bacteria
can double every 20 minutes.
• The colder the storage temperature, the
longer the potential shelflife.
TIME • Potentially hazardous foods should not
remain in the danger zone (50-1400F)
for more than 4 hours during the entire
food handling process.
 • Tolerance to oxygen in the
surrounding environment
Oxygen • Anaerobic
• Aerobic
• Facultative Anaerobes
Moisture – • Water Activity (aw) is the measure of
“free” water available to the
Water Activity microorganism for growth
 WATER ACTIVITY

•Aw/ Microorganism •Foods

1.0-0.95 Bacteria Meat, fish, sausage, milk
0.95-0.91 Bacteria Moist cheeses, cured meat (ham), fruit juice conc
0.91-0.87 Yeasts Fermented sausages (salami), dry cheeses,
0.87-0.80 Molds margarine
0.30-0.20 No microorganisms Juice conc, syrups, flour, fruit cakes, honey, jellies,
preserves
Cookies, crackers, bread crusts
Water Activity

• Aw is affected by the presence of solutes (sugars and salts)

• Lowering aw will reduce the ability for microorganisms to grow

• Moisture in a food system that is available for microbial growth
and chemical reactions – the relative humidity of a food
• •0.98 - 0.995 most foods.
• •85 -.995 for disease causing organisms range .
• •60 - .995 for spoilage organisms
Water Activity: Foods and Microbial Growth
 Controlling Growth SUMMARY:

Microorganisms can grow on food and in the

environment under the right conditions

Remember F-A-T-T-O-M
• –Food, Acidity, Temperature, Time, Oxygen, and Moisture
Food preservation
via Hurdle concept
• “Hurdles Concept”
• Predictive microbiology The study
of interactive effects of factors
effecting microbial growth
• Additive effects
• Synergistic effects
• Antagonistic effects
 Food Industry Interventions

Farm to Fork Food

Ingredients Process After Processing Safety and Quality
Programs
• Have good • Have an adequate • Have control of • HACCP, GMPs,
specifications and thermal process to distribution and a Sanitation
control of incoming destroy system for tracking
ingredients microorganisms and recalling
• Have an adequate • Provide necessary
packaging system information for
to protect your consumers
product (labeling)
Specifications for ingredient make-up, quality, physical and
microbial contaminant levels

Letter of guarantee Certificate of analysis

 Thermal Processing Control

Thermal Processing Package Integrity

• Cooking • Measurements are made to insure

• Pasteurization the
• Commercial sterility (shelf-stable) • package is of good sanitary quality
processes and can maintain a hermetic seal
• Retort systems, aseptic processing, (such as visual inspections and
and hot filling torque measurements for your
containers)
Common genera of
microorganism significant
to food
Which Bacteria are Responsible?

Pathogen Cases Deaths

Campylobacter jejuni 4,000,000 200-1000

Salmonella 2,000,000 500-2000

Stapylococcus aureas 1,500,000 1200
Escherichia coli O157:H7 725,000 100-200
Clostridium spp. 10,000 100
Listeria monocytogenes 1500 250-500
 Foodborne Illness

• Foodborne illness in the United States is associated with:

• 46 million illnesses a year
• 325,000 hospitalizations a year
• 3,000 deaths a year
• A loss of $10-83 billion in pain & suffering, reduced productivity,
and medical costs
Spoilage Organisms

• Bacterial (hundreds of bacteria cause

spoilage)
• Erwinia, Pseudomonas, Flavobacteria, &
Enterobacter spp.
• Lactic acid bacteria
• Fungal
• Penicillium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, and
Candida
80-90% of Foodborne Illnesses from Bacteria
come from just 4 Bacteria

CAMPYLOBACTER SALMONELLA CLOSTRIDIUM STAPHYLOCOCCUS

PERFRINGENS AUREUS
 Illness Mechanisms

Infection Intoxication
Microorganisms are ingested and then cause Toxins are produced by the pathogen, usually in
illness the food. When food is consumed, illness occurs.
Even if microorganisms are killed, toxin can still
remain the food
Bacterial Pathogens
of Concern
• E. coli O157:H7
• Salmonella
• Listeria
• Campylobacter
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Clostridium botulinum
 Common Foodborne Pathogens

E. coli 0157:H7 Salmonella spp. Staphyloccus Listeria Campylobacter

aureus monocytogenes jejuni

Shigella spp. Norovirus Rotovirus Hepatitis A Cryptosporidium

parvum

Giardia lamblia Cyclospora

Low acid foods (pH>4.6, Aw>.85)

SHOULD HAVE A PROCESS TO EXAMPLES: MOST MEAT, VEGETABLE, PROCESS OFTEN AT 230OF OR ABOVE
ELIMINATE 1,000,000,000,000 SPORES AND DAIRY PRODUCTS (RETORTS, ASEPTIC PROCESSING)
OF CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM
Acidified foods (pH altered to <4.6, Aw>.85)

01 02 03
Not required to have Examples: Pickled Process often 180 -
a process to products, 205oF
eliminate Clostridium mayonnaise (pasteurization, hot
botulinum filling)
High acid foods (pH <4.6, Aw>.85)

Not required to have a heat process.

Examples: sliced oranges, condiments

Process often 180 - 205oF (pasteurization, hot filling)

E. coli O157:H7

• •Hemorrhagic colitis
• •Cause: infection
• •Incubation: 2-4 days
• •Symptoms: diarrhea (blood), HUS, TPP
• •Contaminant: milk, meat, fruits, vegetables,
water
Salmonella

• Salmonellosis
• >2000 strains, 10 = foodborne illness
• Cause: infection
• Incubation: 6-48 hours
• Symptoms: nausea, fever, diarrhea, arthritis
• Contaminant: milk, meat, eggs
Listeria monocytogenes

• Listeriosis
• Cause: infection
• Incubation: 2 days - 3 weeks
• Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea
• meningitis, septicemia, miscarriage
• Contaminant: vegetables, milk, cheese, meat,
seafood
Campylobacter jejuni

• Campylobacteriosis
• Cause: infection
• Incubation: 2 - 5 days
• Symptoms: nausea, fever, diarrhea (blood)
• Contaminant: milk, meat, water
Staphylococcus aureus
• Staphyloenterotoxicosis
• Cause: intoxication
• (1 mg toxin = 100,000 cfu/g)
• Incubation: 1-6 hours
• Symptoms: nausea, fever, diarrhea
• Contaminant: milk, meat, eggs
Clostridium botulinum

• Botulism
• Cause: intoxication (spores - neurotoxin)
• Incubation: 18 -36 hours
• Symptoms: weakness, vertigo
• difficulty in speaking, swallowing, breathing
• Contaminant: pH >4.6, low oxygen foods
 Prevention of Foodborne Illness

• 1)Cook- Cook all meat, poultry and eggs to at least 160F. Other than spore-
forming bacteria, all bacteria, parasites and viruses are killed quite easily
with heating to 160F.

• 2)Avoid Cross-Contamination- Do not cross-contaminate one food with another.

Keep raw food totally separated from cooked product. Clean utensils and
work areas etc in between working raw and cooked product. Constantly be
thinking of how microorganisms get from raw to cooked products.
• 3)Chill Foods- Keep foods cold. After cooking, chill foods as rapidly as
possible. Remember that cooking has destroyed most of the bacteria but
spore formers, that are resistant to cooking may become very active and can
proliferate rapidly.

• 4)Cleaning-Wash fruits and vegetables and all foods possible. In addition,

continually wash work areas. Use only treated or tested water. 63

Prevention of Foodborne Illnesses

 • 5)Personal Hygiene- People working
with foods should wash their hands
Prevention of regularly, wear hairnets, plastic
gloves etc. In addition, food handlers
Foodborne should not work with food if they
Illnesses have a boil, open sores or feel sick
themselves
CONCLUSIONS

• Food Microbiology is huge

area
• FATTOM
• Pathogens – Food Safety
• Spoilage microorganisms –
costly