Ecology of Spoilage Associated Microorganisms in Food Products: Origin, Diversity, Behaviour and Spoilage Phenomena

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 February 2019) | Viewed by 15229

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Research Unit Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Gent, Belgium
Interests: pathogenic and spoilage spore forming microorganisms; food preservation; microbial source tracking; applied food mycology; predictive microbiology/mycology; water relations in foods; food safety and hygiene of street foods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, food microbiologists established the microbial ecology of food products and microbial behavior during processing and storage. From these studies, what are now widely-known as specific spoilage organisms (SSOs) were identified for various types of food products. These have subsequently been widely used as model spoilage microorganisms in most food preservation studies, challenge tests, etc., enabling appropriate preservation (prevention) strategies to be devised.

However, food processing and packaging techniques have been evolving rapidly. In some cases these changes may have a significant impact on the microbial ecology and spoilage phenomena of food products. In addition to this, rapid advances in metagenomics and metabolomics have enabled vast amounts of data to be assembled on the microbial ecology of food products and the role of specific microorganisms in their spoilage. These techniques have also been used to identify the origin of food spoilage microorganisms in food products, which is very important for devising appropriate control strategies.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present the state-of-the-art regarding the ecology of microbial spoilage organisms in food products, their origin, behavior in the food processing environment and spoilage associated phenomena. 

Dr. Simbarashe Samapundo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Microbial ecology
  • Spoilage phenomena
  • Bacteria
  • Yeasts
  • Moulds
  • Source tracking

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 710 KiB  
Article
Effects of Calcium and Manganese on Sporulation of Bacillus Species Involved in Food Poisoning and Spoilage
by Martti Tapani Sinnelä, Young Kyoung Park, Jae Hoan Lee, KwangCheol Casey Jeong, Young-Wan Kim, Han-Joon Hwang and Jae-Hyung Mah
Foods 2019, 8(4), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8040119 - 7 Apr 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 8459
Abstract
Spores are resistant against many extreme conditions including the disinfection and sterilization methods used in the food industry. Selective prevention of sporulation of Bacillus species is an ongoing challenge for food scientists and fermentation technologists. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects [...] Read more.
Spores are resistant against many extreme conditions including the disinfection and sterilization methods used in the food industry. Selective prevention of sporulation of Bacillus species is an ongoing challenge for food scientists and fermentation technologists. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of single and combined supplementation of calcium and manganese on sporulation of common pathogenic and food spoilage Bacillus species: B. cereus, B. licheniformis, B. subtilis and B. coagulans. Sporulation of Bacillus vegetative cells was induced on sporulation media supplemented with diverse concentrations of the minerals. Under the various mineral supplementation conditions, the degree of sporulation was quantified with colonies formed by the Bacillus spores. The results revealed that B. licheniformis and B. cereus displayed the weakest sporulation capabilities on media with minimal supplementation levels of calcium and manganese. The lowest sporulation of B. subtilis and B. coagulans was observed on media supplemented with the highest level of calcium and low levels of manganese. Depending on effect of supplementation on sporulation, the Bacillus species were divided into two distinct groups: B. licheniformis and B. cereus; and B. subtilis and B. coagulans. The information provides valuable insight to selectively reduce sporulation of Bacillus species undesirable in the food industry. Full article
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9 pages, 3178 KiB  
Article
The Use of Colors as an Alternative to Size in Fusarium graminearum Growth Studies
by Edgar Cambaza, Shigenobu Koseki and Shuso Kawamura
Foods 2018, 7(7), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods7070100 - 27 Jun 2018
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6084
Abstract
Size-based fungal growth studies have limitations. For example, the growth in size stops in closed systems once it reaches the borders and poorly describes metabolic status, especially in the stationary phase. This might lead mycotoxin studies to unrealistic results. Color change could be [...] Read more.
Size-based fungal growth studies have limitations. For example, the growth in size stops in closed systems once it reaches the borders and poorly describes metabolic status, especially in the stationary phase. This might lead mycotoxin studies to unrealistic results. Color change could be a viable alternative, as pigments result from a mold’s metabolic activity. This study aimed to verify the possibility of using gray values and the RGB system to analyze the growth of Fusarium graminearum. It consisted of color and area measurements using ImageJ software for specimens grown in yeast extract agar (YEA). The results suggest the utility of color and gray values as reliable tools to analyze the growth of F. graminearum. Full article
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