Food Safety (eBook)

SERIES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 6
SERIES PREFACE 8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 12
PREFACE 14
CONTENTS 16
CONTRIBUTORS 18
Part I Preservation and Protection 21
Methods of Food Preservation 22
1. Introduction 22
2. Why Do We Need to Preserve? 22
3. Conventional Food Preservation Methods 23
4. Potential Food Preservation Methods 36
5. Combined Methods for Food Preservation 42
6. References 44
The Challenge of Mycotoxins 45
1. Introduction 45
2. Mycotoxins and Relevant Fungi 46
3. Occurrence of Mycotoxins and their Geographical Distribution 51
4. Control 54
5. Legislation and Regulation 59
6. Case Studies 62
7. Conclusion 66
8. References 66
Recommended References 68
Preventive Measures for Food Safety 69
1. Introduction 69
2. Hygienic Design 71
3. Cleaning Validation 81
4. Conclusion 85
5. References 85
Packaging 87
1. Introduction 87
2. Food Packaging Techniques 88
3. Packaging Systems 89
4. Packaging Materials and Food Applications 92
5. Safety Aspects on Active and Modified Atmosphere Packaging 102
6. References 106
Part II Benefits and Risks of Microorganisms 107
HACCP in the Cheese Manufacturing Process, a Case Study 108
1. Introduction 108
2. Prerequisite Programmes 108
3. Preliminary Tasks 111
4. Principles of HACCP 116
5. Concluding Remarks 127
6. References 127
Genetically Modified Organisms and Food Safety 129
1. Genetically Modified Organisms 129
2. Familiarity and Substantial Equivalence 134
3. Novel Foods Based on GMOS 137
4. Ethical Questions Related to Safety Issues 142
5. MON 810, A Case Study on Genetically Modified Maize 143
6. Future Trends 146
7. References 148
Nutritional Strategies Targeting the Beneficial Modulation of the Intestinal Microflora with Relevance to Food Safety: the Role of Probiotics and Prebiotics 150
1. Introduction 150
2. Intestinal Microflora Composition and Metabolic Activities 152
3. Probiotics 155
4. Prebiotics: Role as Bioactive Nutrients 158
5. Functional Foods: Probiotic and Prebiotic Applications Activities 164
6. References 166
Exploitation of Microorganisms by the food and Beverage Industry 170
1. Introduction 170
2. Why Fermented Products? 172
3. Bacteria 172
4. Starter Culture Production 178
5. Yeasts 186
6. Inventory of Microorganism with a Documented History of use in Food 188
7. References 191
Pathogenic, Commensal and Beneficial Microorganisms in Foods 194
1. Introduction 194
2. Microbial Relationships in Food Ecosystems 196
3. Microbial Interactions – General Considerations 197
4. Beneficial Microorganisms 212
5. References 217
Foodborne Viruses: An Emerging Risk to Health 219
1. Prevalence and Importance of Foodborne Viruses 219
2. Sources of Viral Foodborne Contamination 226
3. Correlating Foodborne Illness to Sources 228
of Contamination 228
4. Prevention and Regulations 230
5. References 234
Part III Process Safety 239
Safety Models: HACCP and Risk Assessment 240
1. HACCP System 241
2. Foodborne Illnesses 248
3. References 252
Application of HACCP in Small Food Businesses 254
1. Introduction 254
2. Present Status of HACCP Implementation 255
3. Food Safety Law 257
4. Food Safety Training 258
5. Key Elements of a Successful Approach 259
6. Management of HACCP Programmes 260
7. Strategy for the Successful Implementation of HACCP 264
8. References 266
Cleaning and Disinfection Procedures in the Food Industry General Aspects and Practical Applications 268
1. Definitions 268
2. Introduction 269
3. Dirt Removal 269
4. The Procedures 271
5. Detergents 273
6. Disinfectants 276
7. Main Cleaning and Disinfection Methods: Manual, COP, CIP 285
8. References 294
Ensuring Biosafety through Monitoring of GMO in Food with Modern Analytical Techniques, a Case Study 296
1. Introduction 296
2. European Union (EU) Legislation 297
3. Methods for Detection of GMO In Food 300
4. Method of Analysis 303
5. Problems Related to Transgene Detection of Bt-maizein Food Products 303
6. Case Study 307
7. References 308
SUBJECT INDEX 310
AUTHOR INDEX 317

8 Exploitation of Microorganisms by the Food and Beverage Industry (p. 153-154)

GEORGE KALANTZOPOULOS1, MANUELA PINTADO2, AND ANA GOMES2

1. Introduction

The food and beverage industry exploits non-pathogenic microorganisms for the production of fermented foods. These foods are prepared from raw or headed raw materials and acquire their characteristic properties by a process that involves microorganisms. In certain cases the endogenous enzymes of the wild microflora of the raw material may play a decisive role. 3It is believed that fermented foods originated from the Orient and date back to the prehistoric times. Originally, these were fermented "spontaneously" by autochthonous strains found in the raw materials or the environment, this was the start of traditional biotechnology. Historical reports show that long established artisanal and religious practices utilized cultures, which were very similar to the starter cultures applied today. The most important were cheese, yoghurt, wine, vinegar, beer, bread and the traditional fungal fermentation used in Asia and Africa, for the production of food. In general, all kinds of microorganisms are used for fermentations, but in Europe bacteria and yeasts are more commonly used than moulds. Through the ages, people gained more and more experience to control these processes and fermented foods became an independent class of foodstuffs. As regards taste, aroma, visual appearance, texture, consistency, shelf-life and safety, these different products possess characteristic properties compared to the raw materials or to other similar products.

The use of fermented milks and cheese dates back many centuries, although there is no precise record of the date when they were first made. In the Bible there are various references to fermented foods. When the Patriach Abraham entertained three angels, he put before them soured and sweet milk (Genesis VIII, 8). Also, Moses having considered the food given by Jehovah to his people mentions the soured milk of cows and goats (Deuteronomy, XXXII 14), (Davis, 1952). Homer in Odysseus mentioned the production of cheese from the first cheesemaker of the world Polyfemus. From this period until today, cheese has become one of the most important fermented products of the world.

The art of producing beers and wines has developed over 5000-8000 years. There must have been several independent discoveries on how fermented beverages arose from exposing fruit juice or cereal extracts to the air. The explanations for the fermentations were available during the nineteenth century but such did not promote a steady improvement in manufacturing techniques, but only in volume. During the height of the Egyptian and Babylonian civilizations some 4300 years ago, the details of brewing were well-illustrated. During Greek and later Roman domination, wine became an important item of international commerce. The beverages were attractive, particularly for those individuals who enjoyed few pleasures, in that they produced alcoholic euphoria (Hough et al., 1982). The production of bread started at the same time with the cultivation of cereals. The Egyptians, and later the Jews, prepared the "galets" with the use of beer yeasts. Later on, the Greeks discovered bread and produced it from different kinds of cereals. Relative history reports that in this period in Athens 72 different kinds of bread were produced (Derieux , 1988).

In the 1st century A.D., Plinius the Elder (Derieux , 1988), described storage of white cabbage in special earthen vessels, which were used only for this purpose. Nowadays, it has been established that the conditions described by Plinius, were those of the fermentation of cabbage to sauerkraut by microorganisms, which were located in the pores of the vessels and which had persisted from a former fermentation.

Plinius also described the production of bread in Gaule and in the Iberian countries via the use of foam taken from the beer production process. Presently, it is still possible to observe primitive forms of starter application during preparation of several fermented beverages in some parts of Africa. During a religious ceremony preceding the fermentation, the medicine man dips cult objects into the liquid, which again contains microorganisms from a previous batch.

In the Middle Ages brewing was an art or mystery, the details of which were jealously guarded by the master brewers and their guilds. Mystery it certainly was because there was virtually no appreciation of the reasons for the various processing steps, most of which, like fermentation, had been discovered by chance. Thus, malting involved immersing barley in water and permitting it to sprout but the reasons for the barley becoming soft and sweet was not understood. Similarly, the reasons for drying the germinated barley under relatively cool conditions were cloaked in mystery (Hough et al., 1982).