Microbes Associated with

Foods

Lecture- 3
Significance of Microbes in Foods
Depends on several conditions
• The no. of microbes
• The type of microbes
• The type of foods
• The treatments to which the food has been
exposed
• The processing or the storage treatments the food
will receive
• Whether the food is be eaten as fresh or heated
• The individual who might consume the food
 Functions of Microbes in Foods

Microbes have one or more of the following

functions:
• Useful functions
• Cause spoilages
• Be a health hazard
• Be inert
• Desirable changes of foods
• Undesirable changes of foods
• No change of foods
 Types of Microbes in Food
Microbe Size Cell type
Virus .01-0.25m Acellular
Bacteria 0.1-10 m Prokaryotes,
Unicellular
Fungi 2 m -1m Eukaryote,
filamentous
Protozoa 2-100 m Eukaryote,
Algae 1 m -few m Eukaryote,
Determine Types of Microbes in Food
Cultural characteristics
Microscopic
characteristics
Biochemical characteristics
Serological profiles
DNA HOMOLOGY
Non-selective,selective
differential media
Staining reactions &
morphological characters
Commercial kits & systems
for biochemical properties
For cellular,Flagellar or
other
antigens(RIA,EIA,ELISA)
% of G+C content of DNA

RNA HOMOLOGY 23S,16S and 5S sequence

similarities
Plasmid Presence or absence profile
Common Microbes Associated with Foods

• Bacteria

Acinetobacter,Aeromonas,Bacillus,
Brochothrix,Campylobacter,Clostridium,
Enterobacter,Escherichia,Flavobacterim,
Lactobacillus,Listeria,Micrococcus,
Proteus,Pseudomonas,Salmonella,
Serratia,Shigella,Staphylococcus,Yersinia etc
• Molds:

Alternaria,Aspergillus,Aureobasidium,
Botrytis,Cladosporium,Collectotrichum,
Fusarium,Geotrichum,Monilia,
Mucor,Penicillium,Rhizopus,
Trichothecium,Xeromyces etc
• Yeast
Candida,Cryptococcus, Debaryomyces,
Kluiveromyces, Pichia,Rhodotorula,
Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces,
Torulospora, Zygosaccharomyces etc.

• Protozoa
Cryptosporidium Parvum,
Entamoeba histolytica,
Giardia lamblia,
Toxoplasma gondii.
 Factors Influencing the Type of
Microbes in Foods
• General environment of food origin
• Microbiological quality of raw or unprocessed
state
• Sanitary conditions of handling & processing
• Adequacy of packaging, handling & storage
 Common Food-borne Bacteria
• Enteric pathogens associated with foods
E. coli Indicator of food
safety
Campylobactor jejuni gastroenteritis milk

Aeromonas gastroenteritis milk

hydrophila
Listeria listeriosis meat,milk
monocytogenes
Mycobacterium tuberculosis milk
tuberculosis
Salmonella salmonellosis meat,milk
typhimurium
Yersinia enteitis milk
enterocolitica
 Common Food-borne Bacteria

Cause food poisoning

• Bacillus cereus
enterotxins different foods
• Clostridium botulinum
neurotoxins vegetables,fishery
(A,B,C1,C2,D,E,F & G)
• Staphylococus aureus
enterotoxins meat
(A,B,C,D,E,F)
 Common Food-borne Bacteria

• Involved in food spoilages

Acetobacter sp Souring of juices

Alcaligenes Ropiness in milk

Brochotrix Spoilage of meat in

thermosphacta refrigerator
Clostridium Putrefaction of
putrefaciens various proteins
Flavobacterium spp Spoilage of meat &
dairy products
 Common Food-borne Bacteria
• Used in food preparation
Acetobacter sp Production of acetic
acid
Brevibacterium Ripening of cheese
linens (Limburger)
Gluconobacter spp Preparation of
vinegar
Lactobacillus spp Preparation of dairy
products
Common Molds Associated with Foods

• Involved in spoilage of foods

Geotrichum candidum Colored growth on milk

Aspergillus flavus Producing toxin in

foods
Rhizopus stolonifer Spoilage of fruits

Mucor racemosus Moldy bread

Thamndium elegans Whiskers on chilled

meat
Common Molds Associated with Foods
• Involved in processing of foods
Mucor rouxii Amylo process
Mucor spp Ripening of cheese
Aspergillus flavus Oriental foods
Aspergillus niger Production of citrate
Penicillium Ripening of cheese
cammemberti
P.roqueforti Ripening of cheese
Common Yeasts Associated with Foods

• Involved in spoilage of foods

Saccharomyces Fruits,honey
pombe
Trichosporon pullulans Chilled beef

Torulopsis sphaerica Milk products

Candida lipolytica butter

Debaryomyces Cheese,sauces
kloeckeri
Common Yeasts Associated with Foods

• Involved in processing of foods

Saccharomyces lactis Fermented milk

S.cerevisiae Bread,wine,beer

Candida utilis Food,feed

Zygosaccharomyces Soy sauce

Historical Development in Freezing Foods
1842 Benjamin (England) patent freezing foods in ice
& salts
1865 Artificial freezing of fish on commercial
scale(USA);followed by the egg in1889
1878 First cargo frozen meat sent to England from
Australia; followed by New Zealand in 1882
1890 Mechanical refrigeration for fruits(Chicago)

1916 Quick freezing of foods(Germany)

1917 Freezing of foods for retail trade by Clarence

Birdseye(USA)
THANK YOU ALL