Chapter 1: Introduction: Basics of Food Microbiology

• Definition, Historical aspects, Scope of food microbiology

• Characteristics of Microorganisms in Food: bacteria, fungi, algae,
protozoa, viruses
• Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells Structure, Taxonomy and
nomenclature
o Prokaryotes__
o Eukaryotes__

• Common genera of Bacteria, Genera of molds and yeasts,

parasites and viruses in foods

• Sources of Microorganisms in Foods: Air, soil, sewage, water,

Animals, plants, processing equipments
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 Definition and Scope of Food microbiology

• Microbiology refers to the study of microorganisms, a large and diverse

group of microscopic organisms that exist as single cells or cell clusters.
• Microorganisms are living entities of microscopic size and include
bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae, and protozoa.
 Bacteria are classified as prokaryotes (cells without definite nuclei);
 The fungi, algae, and protozoa are eukaryotes (cells with nuclei);
 Viruses are not cellular and are classified separately
• Microorganisms are present everywhere, including in humans, animals,
plants and other living creatures, soil, water, and the atmosphere.
• The first living cells to inhabit the Earth_ i.e., more than 3 billion years;
• Since then they have played important roles, many of which are beneficial
to the other living systems.
• They are the beginning and ending of food chains upon which all life
depends.
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Significance /why we study microorganisms?
• Microorganisms are necessary part of our world; They have a tremendous
impact on all life and the physical and chemical makeup of the earth.
• They are responsible for cycling the chemical elements essential for life, including
carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen;
• The vast majority of microorganisms coexist alongside us without causing any
harm;
 Many microorganisms are beneficial_ provide useful functions such as
– Degrade organic matter and recycling of nutrients
– manufacture of antibiotics and foodstuffs
– Fermentation, manufacture of food stuffs, probiotics
– Photosynthesis- first creatures to support life on earth
– Digest cellulose and synthesize vitamins
– Synthesize antibiotics
– In biotechnological applications

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 Unfortunately, microorganisms also can be detrimental (harmful effect), cause
– Many diseases in humans, animals & plants
– Food spoilage
• Only a couple of hundreds of bacterial species cause infections in humans,
which are known as pathogens.
• A pathogen is an organism with the potential to cause disease.

 Some areas in which the microbiology expertise can be used:

Medicine Pharmaceutical industry
Food and drink production Environmental science
Agriculture Fundamental research
Genetic engineering

 Microbiologists study microorganisms and their interactions with humans,

animals, plants, and the environment.

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Food microbiology:- The study of microorganisms that grow in food and how food
environments influence microbes.
• It focus on microorganisms which have both beneficial and deleterious effects on the
quality and safety of food products

 Microorganisms in food manifest their presence in one of several ways:

(i) they can cause spoilage;
(ii) they can cause foodborne illness;
(iii) they can transform properties of food in a beneficial way – food fermentation.

• Thus, Knowledge of microorganisms of foods helps to

– prevent food spoilage and foodborne illness
– produce desirable products e.g. fermentation
– create an understanding of aseptic techniques

• Specifically, areas of interest which concern Food microbiology:

– food poisoning
– food spoilage
– food processing and preservation
– Food standard or legislation ( quality assurance) 5
Historical Aspects: Food Microbiology Past and Present

• Until about 10,000 years ago, humans were hunter-gatherers; Preservation

was not an issue.
• Around 8000 BC, with the shift to agricultural societies, storage, spoilage, and
preservation became important challenges.

• The first preservation methods were Sun-dried, salted, smoked or frozen

foods.
• Fermenting food became an organized activity around 4000 B.C.E.

Discovery of Microorganisms
• For thousands of years, Humans remained ignorant of microbes.
• The discovery of microorganisms goes in parallel with the invention and
improvement of the Microscope.

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• In 1665, Robert hooke described fruiting structures of molds.
• In 1676, Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek invented his own simple microscope, and
he was the fist person to see bacteria
• sketched the three morphological forms (spheroids /cocci, cylindrical rods,
spiral); he presented to the Royal Society of London describing the
“animalcules” he saw.

Where Are They Coming from?

• Following Leeuwenhoek’s discovery, some scientific minds were curious to
determine from where the animalcules were emanating.
 Nonetheless, it took another 200 years to prove that microbes exist and cause
fermentative processes.

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• From the Renaissance period, the theory of ‘spontaneous generation’_
generation of some form of life from nonliving objects, had many powerful
followers among the educated and elite classes.
 E.g., Emergence of maggots from dead bodies and spoiled meat

• However, in 1665, Francesco Redi disproved that theory, showing that the
maggots in spoiled meat arose from eggs deposited by files.

• In 1749, Needham showed that boiled meat or meat broth, following storage in
covered flasks, could have the presence of animalcules within a short time
• This was used to prove the appearance of these animalcules spontaneously

• Lazzaro Spallanzani (1765) disproved Needham’s theory, and showed that

boiling the meat broth in a flask and sealing the flask prevented spoilage.
• However, advocates of spontaneous generation, Antoine Lavoisier and his
coworkers, argued that air is needed for life and that the air was sealed out,
__i.e., ‘Suggested Oxygen is vital force for life’.

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 Louis Pasteur and the downfall of Spontaneous generation

• Louis Pasteur (1822–1895), the French chemist, is the most famous figure in the
history of microbiology.
• In 1861, Pasteur demonstrated that, in a boiled infusion, bacteria could grow only
if the infusions were contaminated with bacteria carried by dust in the air.
• He conducted controlled experiments using his famous swan-necked flasks in a
way that allowed access to air but not microbes.
• His studies proved that bacteria were able to reproduce (biogenesis), and life
could not originate by spontaneous generation.

• These discoveries provide the basis of aseptic techniques

• His principles are applied today in canning and pasteurization.

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Pasteur’s swan-necked flask experiment. Nutrient broth was boiled in flasks. The necks of the
flasks were heated and drawn out into a curve, but kept open to the atmosphere. This shows
that the broth remained sterile because any contaminating dust and microorganisms remained
trapped in the neck of the flask as long as it remained upright. 10
The golden Age of Microbiology (1857 to 1914 )
• Rapid advances occurred that led to the development of microbiology as a
specific discipline
 mainly contributions by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch
Discoveries included
– agents of many diseases, and the role of immunity in preventing
disease.
– chemical activities of microorganisms ( fermentation, food spoilage)
– improved techniques for performing microscopy & culturing
microorganisms,
– Development of vaccines , antibiotics

• Later, in to several sub disciplines, such as medical microbiology, industrial

microbiology, soil microbiology, plant pathology and food microbiology

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Fermentation and Pasteurization
 Pasteur initiated major ideas on the possible roles of microorganisms in foods, in
the 1870.
• He showed the fermentation and souring of wine from grapes was caused by
microorganisms;
• The yeast produced the alcohol, while the bacteria were responsible for the
spoilage.
• Pasteur recommended heating of wine at 145°F (62.7°C) for 30 min to destroy
souring bacteria;
• Later, this process was named pasteurization.
• Pasteurization is now commonly used to reduce spoilage and kill potentially
harmful bacteria in milk and in some alcoholic drinks.

 Pasteur also Developed vaccines for rabies, anthrax and fowl cholera

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Robert Koch and the germ theory of disease ( 1843- 1910)
• Robert Koch was a giant of microbiology.
• In the late1876, he established criteria for proving that a bacterium caused a disease.
These criteria were known as Koch’s postulates. i.e.,
1. The microorganism must be present in every instance of the disease and absent from healthy
individuals.
2. The microorganism must be capable of being isolated and grown in pure culture.
3. When the microorganism is inoculated into a healthy host, the same disease condition must
result.
4. The same microorganism must be re-isolated from the experimentally infected host.

• He discovered Bacillus anthracis in the blood of cattle that had died of anthrax
This approach was so brilliant that it is still used today to prove that a disease has a
microbial origin.
Other contributions of Koch
• Discovered the causative agent of tuberculosis
• Invented
 petri dishes, and solid media method to isolate bacteria in pure cultures ,
 staining methods for microscopic observation of bacteria,
 use of steam to sterilize materials to grow bacteria
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Some of the major events (19 century)
• Ferdinand Cohn (1875), developed the preliminary classification system of
bacteria. He also discovered some bacteria produced spores.

• John Snow (1849) suggested the spread of cholera through drinking water
contaminated with sewage.

• William Budd (1856) suggested that water contamination with feces from
infected persons spread typhoid fever and advocated the use of chlorine in
water supply to overcome the problem.

• Theodor Escherich (1885) isolated Escherichia coli from the feces

• Hans Christian Gram (1884) developed Gram staining of bacterial cells.

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Modern food microbiology

Discovery of some important pathogens

• The first half of the 20th century was marked by the discovery of the
”traditional” foodborne pathogens Such as Salmonella, Clostridium botulinum,
Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus.

• Viruses were first crystallized and associated with disease in the 1930s.
However, they are “understudied” relative to bacteria
• Invention of the electron microscope ( 1940s)
• New branches of microbiology were developed, including immunology and
virology.

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Era of Molecular microbiology
• In the middle of the 20th century (1950), James Watson and Francis Crick
discovered the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This gave birth to the
era of molecular genetics.
• This has led to better understanding of how bacteria cause illness, antibody
based detection methods for bacteria, genetic ”fingerprints” for
epidemiological tools, and genetically alter microorganisms used in
fermentation to improve their industrial characteristics.
• The tools of molecular biology are becoming increasingly important to food
microbiology.

Changes in food safety approach

• In the mid 20th century, a shift from massive end product testing to design
safety in the process that ensure safe products. e.g., GMP , HACCP
• Risk assessment providing the basis for more sophisticated regulatory
approaches .
• Food irradiation approved in the processing of raw poultry and meat.

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 Current status
• Advances in bacterial physiology, biochemistry and genetics enabled to
experimentally manipulate genetic martial of cells.
• all activities in molecular genetics carried out on bacteria and viruses

• Biotechnology- DNA from foreign sources are introduced in to bacteria and

control its replication.
• Genomic information now fueling advances in medicine, microbial ecology,
industrial microbiology and many other areas
• New frontiers in genomics and proteomics – open an exiting time to study
microorganisms
– Use of molecular techniques for rapid detection of food pathogens, spoilage
organisms
– Food biopreservation, Fermentation food of better quality and development of
probiotic strains
– stress adaption of organisms to processing and preservation

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Reading
• Discuss important areas of applied microbiology subjects
• Specify main areas of concern in food microbiology, and importance of
food microbiology
• List important areas (each) of current studies in food biotechnology,
food spoilage, and foodborne diseases.
• Briefly describe what a food microbiology student is expected to know.
• Significant events in the history of food microbiology, Current status of
food microbiology and the future beyond

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