Food and Industrial Microbiology

eating food contaminated with foodborne pathogens or their toxins which is just another word for poisons is the leading cause of foodborne illness .there are four types of microorganisms that can contaminate food and cause foodborne illness bacteria viruses parasite and fungi and there are six conditions that support the growth of this harmful food borne microorganisms with the exception of viruses that you can remember this six conditions if you use the acronym fat tom those initials stand for food acidity temperature time oxygen and moisture ..let’s look at the first condition the food itself just like people foodborne pathogens need nutrients to grow they typically needs carbohydrates and proteins we can find this food like meet polytree dairy products , cooked rice pasta and eggs

illnesses is very serious and is not only spread through human interaction with the food, since

Contamination may happen at any stage of food production, from seed and soil to packaging and cooking. Meat may be contaminated by inadequate storage or poor hygiene. Cross contamination can happen through raw meat. Pathogens can still be present in food due to food that is insufficiently warm. Food should only be reheated once, and drinking water could also be contaminated, although there are hygiene controls to prevent

Citrobacter Freundii is a species of bacteria that can be potentially harmful to humans. It is known to cause meningitis by protruding into the brain and replicating itself (1). The Citrobacter species has also been found as a cause of some urinary tract infections, diarrhea, and even gastrointestinal diseases and symptoms (3). C. Freundii can be located in a wide variety of soils and water (3). Lastly, it is also the cause of many nosocomial infections due to its presence in water (1).

The identification of unknown organisms carries important ramifications that can be applied to many real world scenarios. In keeping with quality assurance beverages, food, cosmetics, and other products are frequently inspected for contaminants resulting from a presence of pathogenic bacteria. In medicine, a physician’s diagnosis and consequent treatment is largely determined from samples collected from infection sites that have been analyzed using microbial tests.

McCarthy, A.L., Stevens, S.K., & Weber, R.A. Bacillus Cereus Fact Sheet (2013) Food Safety Counsel. Retrieved from http://www.foodsafetycounsel.com/fo

During my high school years, I recall working in the fields during vacation breaks with my mother harvesting tomatoes, picking up cherries, and pruning grape vines. Fascinating as it sounds, I was always intrigued to understand why fruits and vegetables spoil or often cause food poising in humans. Although, when I questioned my mother why these fruits spoil, she responded it was due to “little bugs,” which was not a sufficient response.

Foodborne illness, or food poisoning, happens everyday in the U.S. and it is estimated that 48 million people are affected by it every year. Of these 48 million, 128,000 end up in the hospital and 3000 of them die from foodborne pathogens (Tucker, 2014). Foodborne illnesses can be caused by biological, chemical, or physical contaminants. The biological contaminants consist of bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. Chemical contaminants are pesticides, cleaning supplies, and toxic chemicals. Physical contaminations are dirt, glass, wood, splinters, stones, hair, jewelry, and metal shavings (Tucker, 2014). Salmonella, a bacterium, has been the most common reported cause of food poisoning. Salmonella is most commonly exposed to humans through animal feces and it is usually from animals that give us beef, poultry, and dairy products. People who do not wash their hands after being around animals can also transmit salmonella into our food. The symptoms of Salmonella are abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever (Tucker, 2014). The symptoms will usually resolve on their own in healthy people but may become life threatening in those with compromised immune systems. In order to prevent Salmonellosis, raw eggs should be avoided, as well as undercooked meat, shellfish, and unpasteurized milk and juice (Tucker, 2014). It is also important to always practice hand hygiene before handling any uncooked food products. Escherichia Coli, otherwise known as E. coli, is

Food hygiene is very important to prevent cross contamination. If strict guidelines are not adhered to in the handling of food serious illness can be caused.

Foodborne illness is one of the more common illnesses that affects every 1 in 6 Americans each year according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (cdc.gov). Of those 48 million people, about 128,00 are hospitalized while 3,000 are left dead (cdc.gov). Foods such as: fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, and shellfish, are the number one causers of foodborne illness. Produce accounted for the highest affecting food group with leafy greens causing more than 46% by the norovirus (https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/attribution/attribution-1998-2008.html). Poultry accounted for the most deaths with findings of Salmonella and Listeria as the two main bacteria causing agents.

Nina Redman talks about the international food safety and how it works against the foodborne diseases. The world Health Organization (WHO) plays a major rule on food safety by publicizing the safety related programs and workshops. Beside bacteria and viruses, Nina also wrote about some other food safety threats such as hormones in milk, overuse of antibiotics in farm animals, genetically engineered plants etc. Risk assessment is a tool that scientists use to reduce the risk of these threats. The foodborne illness/disease most likely happens from the bacteria. DNA “fingerprinting” is one of the best tool that scientists have invented to investigate the foodborne illness.

One of the most frequently worldwide foodborne diseases outbreak was caused by the enterotoxin produced by the Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). When certain strains of S. aureus is growing, the enterotoxin is produced as a byproduct. In favorable condition, enterotoxin is not produced by the S. aureus. Generally, the toxin will be produced once the total cell numbers reach 100,000 per gram of meat. Enterotoxin is high heat resistant which not able to remove by the normal temperature and time used to process or cook foods. It also could withstand high salt levels, nitrite and grow in the condition with or without air. S. aureus is often present in the mucous membranes which are the nose and throat, the surface of the skin and hair. It can also present in infections lead to the occurrence of food contamination. For an example, S. aureus could be transmitted through the air and contaminate the meat from the carcass during the processing. Foods that often contaminate with S. aureus included ham, corned beef, salami, bacon, barbecued meat, salads, the baking product containing cream and cheese.

In everyday life, humans endure micro-organisms, bacteria, and fungi, due to Microbial contamination. This phenomenon occurs frequently, and people are unaware of the causes and effect of what microbial contamination can have to truly offer. By definition microbiological contamination occurs when non-intended or accidental introduction bacteria, yeast, mold, fungi, virus, prions, protozoa or their toxins and by-products is carried from one object to another object, person to person, or from an object to a person. (Sue,2007) Cross-contamination occurs during cooking. Specifically, it occurs when juices from raw meats or germs from unclean objects touch cooked or ready-to-eat foods.(Eleese Cunningham, 2015) or even in equipment at processing facilities not being cleaned properly, for instance, or any of the other numerous and sundry ways food can be mishandled a make it to someone, which can greatly increase the risk of food poisoning. (Danilo Alfaro, 2017) Cross contamination does not only consist of bacteria but furthermore, it consists of a virus or a toxin of some sort. (Danilo Alfaro, 2017). It ranges from complex multicellular eukaryotes to even the most unicellular prokaryotic organism, and at any crack or even any type of opening at West Carleton, there will be definitely living microorganisms being passed along from one person to another unconsciously.

Food is an essential constituent in human life. Nevertheless, some foods can be detrimental to a person’s organism by causing life-threatening diseases. For that reason, food safety comes into play. Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling,

Food gets contaminated after a certain period of time because bacteria start growing in it. Food contains certain preservatives like salts and other chemicals. However, they do not last long and so if food is not