Microbial spoilage review.

A new review from CGFRA will help companies in setting target microorganism levels as part of their obligation to set shelf lives for their products.

Microbial spoilage of foods: a review (Review No. 55) provides a guide to the general spoilage patterns of different food groups and investigates whether there are any relevant spoilage organisms that could be used routinely as a more reliable microbial indicator of product quality of a range of food groups. It demonstrates that when current target levels for specific organisms or groups of organisms are met, the food in question often shows no sign of microbial deterioration (i.e. the food is still fit for consumption from a microbial standpoint). More reliable and accurate ways of predicting die onset of microbial spoilage could allow longer shelf lives to be set for some products. The review starts with all overview of food spoilage, followed by two major sections on typical flora associated with major food groups and a description of the flora themselves. It concludes with two very useful appendices giving brief details of the characteristics of individual spoilage organisms, and lists of individual organisms associated with spoilage of different food groups.

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