Search results
Apr 3, 2024 · Microbial food spoilage is typically caused by growth of microorganisms and the associated enzymatic activities; however, it can also be caused by microbially produced enzymes that are...
Jun 7, 2024 · The contamination of food by microbial agents is a worldwide public health concern. Most countries have documented significant increases in the incidence of diseases caused by microorganisms in food over the past few decades.
Feb 20, 2015 · Most countries have documented significant increases in the incidence of diseases caused by microorganisms in food over the past few decades. Microbial hazards in food include bacteria such as Salmonella, viruses such as Norovirus, parasites such as trematodes as well as prions.
Biological contamination is when disease-causing bacteria or other harmful microorganisms called “pathogens” contaminate food and are consumed; it is a common cause of food poisoning and food spoilage. Bacteria are small microorganisms that split and multiply very quickly.
- Preharvest Factors
- Harvest Factors
- Preslaughter and Slaughter Contamination Factors
- Post-Harvest/Slaughter Contamination Factors
While being grown in the field, plant foods can be contaminated with microorganisms through water used for irrigation, application of pesticides, manure applied as fertilizer, migratory or wild animals, and practices of workers in the field .
A wide variety of equipment used in harvesting can be easily contaminated by many types of pathogenic microorganisms from air, raw foods, water, and personnel getting into the equipment. Microorganisms including pathogens can be built up in improperly washed and sanitized harvesting equipment, such as knives, chippers, and containers including trai...
Livestock may be colonized by potentially pathogenic microorganisms prior to slaughter, and if care is not taken during the procedures of handling, transporting, slaughtering, and dressing livestock, the edible portions of the meat carcass surface can be contaminated with organisms (e.g., Salmonella spp. and E.coli (EHEC)) capable of causing foodbo...
3.4.1 Food Processing/Preparation and Serving
Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into foods or food ingredients. Food processing involves applying scientific and technological principles to preserve foods [26, 27]. Food preparation or processing can introduce pathogens into a product if not done properly . One important factor of microbial contamination during food processing and preparation is the use of shared equipment, which may introduce pathogens from one food to another. Studies showed that Listeria...
3.4.2 Unhygienic Practices of Food Handlers
Between production and consumption, foods can be in contact with different people handling the foods. Humans (their skin, mucous membranes, and cuts, open sores, or a skin infection) can serve as potential sources of pathogens from where foods can be contaminated if handled under unhygienic conditions, especially through unwashed hands . Improperly cleaned hands, lack of aesthetic sense and personal hygiene, dirty clothes, and hair can be major sources of microbial contamination in foods [...
3.4.3 Biofilm Formation in Food Processes
During food processing, microbial colonies can inhabit or accumulate on critical places such as food contact and environmental sites on equipment to form biofilms. Biofilms are microbial cell clusters with a network of internal channels in the extracellular polysaccharide and glycoprotein matrix, which allows nutrients and oxygen to be transported from the bulk liquid to the cells . Microbial colonies that form in critical places contaminate the surfaces and consequently the products made...
- Farrhin Nowshad, Nadira Mustari, Mohidus Samad Khan
- 2021
May 22, 2023 · Soil, which houses both microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, and mold, and vectors that carry these agents, is a direct contaminant for many food groups, including produce, cereals, and animal meat.
People also ask
Are microbial agents contaminating food?
Why are bacteria considered the most harmful group in food contamination?
What microbial groups cause foodborne diseases and food spoilage?
What causes persistent microbial contamination in food processing facilities?
Which bacterial group is responsible for food spoilage?
Food contamination is generally defined as foods that are spoiled or tainted because they either contain microorganisms, such as bacteria or parasites, or toxic substances that make them unfit for consumption.
