Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive, non-spore forming, aerobic or anaerobic intracellular rod bacterium in […]
Category: Food Microbiology
Features of probiotics & reported modes of action of probiotics
Microorganisms must meet stringent criteria to be used as probiotics, including being non-pathogenic, non-toxic, and able to survive stomach acid and pancreatic secretions. Probiotics confer health benefits such as enhancing the immune system, producing vitamins, preventing GI infections, and aiding in lactose digestion, potentially treating conditions like IBS and eczema.
DESIGN AND OPERATION OF THE FERMENTER
A fermenter or bioreactor is simply defined as an apparatus that maintains optimal conditions for […]
MICROBIAL ENUMERATION OF FOOD PRODUCTS
Food meant for human or animal consumption should be certified safe and hygienically acceptable after […]
POTENTIALS OF MICROBES IN FOOD PRODUCTION
Microorganisms inclusive of bacteria and fungi play tremendous roles in sustainable agriculture. And these organisms […]
PRINCIPLES OF FOOD HYGIENE: sources of contamination in food industries
Food meant for human and animal consumption must meet certain quality and safety criteria to […]
HAZARD ANALYSIS CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP)
Hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) is an internationally recognized food safety system that is […]
INDICATOR ORGANISMS
Indicator organisms are microorganisms that signify the possible contamination of food or food products as […]
SINGLE CELL PROTEINS
Thepopulation of the world is increasing at an alarming rate, and this calls for sustainable […]
FOOD POISONING
Food poisoning/food infection is defined as the microbial infection or disease that is caused by […]
FOOD BORNE DISEASES
Food borne diseases are diseases caused by the ingestion of food borne pathogens. They are […]
SOURCES OF MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION OF FOOD
Microbial contamination of food is almost inevitable owing to the ubiquity of microorganisms – which […]
EXTRINSIC FACTORS OF FOOD SPOILAGE
Extrinsic factors of food spoilage are the non-substrate factors that affect the spoilage of foods […]
INTRINSIC FACTORS OF FOOD SPOILAGE
Intrinsic factors of food spoilage are those inherent factors that are associated with the food […]
FOOD SPOILAGE
What is food spoilage? Food spoilage is simply defined as the change in the overall […]
Botulism – a public health menace
Key facts Foodborne botulism is a serious, potentially fatal disease. However, it is relatively rare. […]
MONITORING OF WATER QUALITY
Water quality is defined as the suitability of water to sustain various uses or processes […]
ACTIVE AIR MONITORING
Active air monitoring also involve the use of settle plates or sedimentation culture plates (as […]
PASSIVE AIR MONITORING
Passive air monitoring is usually done using special type of Petri dish plates known as […]
MONITORING OF AIR QUALITY
Air quality is defined as the degree to which the ambient air in a particular […]
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Quality assurance (QA) is a planned and systematic process used for evaluating and monitoring the […]
QUALITY CONTROL
Quality control (QC) is defined as a monitoring system that is used for detecting and […]
BAIRD–PARKER AGAR
Baird–parker agar is a selective medium for the enumeration of Staphylococcus aureus in foods and […]
APPERTIZATION
Appertization is simply defined as the heat-treatment of food at certain temperature levels that inhibit […]
Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL) Test
The LAL test is applied in the testing of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, water, food, and […]
PASTEURIZATION
Pasteurization is simply defined as the process of heating food during its production in order […]
PYROGEN TEST
A pyrogen is simply defined as a fever-causing (inducing) agent that includes toxins of microorganisms. […]
FOOD PRESERVATION
Food preservation is the technique used to prevent food spoilage. It encompass all the methods […]
MICROBIAL GROWTH PHASE
Microbial cells can exhibit different growth patterns depending on the availability of growth nutrients in […]
CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROORGANISMS USED IN INDUSTRIAL MICROBIOLOGY
Microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and viruses possess some unique qualities different from animals and […]
STERILITY TESTS OF BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS
The phrase sterility simply means the absence of living organisms including bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa […]
GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE / IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI
References Anaissie E.J, McGinnis M.R, Pfaller M.A (2009). Clinical Mycology. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill […]
Introduction to Food Microbiology
Food microbiology is the branch of microbiology that deals with methods for keeping microorganisms (especially […]
What microbiologists do – where they work!
All around the world there are microbiologists making a difference to our lives – ensuring […]