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Microbial Regulation oin the Food Industry

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Microbiology Topic Paper:
Microbial Regulation in the Food Industry

Microorganisms have been involved I the development of food items throughout history. Although at first it may have not been intentional over time humans have study and experimented with culturing microbes to prolong the shelf life of foods, inadvertently changing the taste and textures of the food item as well. As safety concerns spread in the 1900s regulations were formed to ensure the safety and well-being of humans. In the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Admiration is the organization that determines the overall safeness of a food element.
When Microbes are used in food they tend to fall under two types of categories in the FDA regulatory classifications. The first category would be the generally recognized as safe category or GRAS published as a proposed rule in 1997. Microbes considered GRAS fall under multiple definitions. If a microbe was utilized prior to 1958 as an additive with no apparent side effects and proven to be safe over time, it will fall under GRAS via being grandfathered in. Another way in which a microbe additive will be considered GRAS is through common knowledge. Common knowledge is the assumed awareness that experts have in knowing that a microbe is naturally in the development in the food process. For example if a microbe is naturally present in yogurt, such as S. thermophiles, then supplementary amounts of the same microbes being added to the yogurt

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