Microbial Food Safety and Preservation Techniques

V Ravishankar Rai earned his MSc and PhD from the University of Mysore, India. Currently, Dr. Rai is working as a Professor in the Department of Studies in Microbiology, University of Mysore, India. He was awarded a fellowship from the UNESCO Biotechnology Action Council, Paris (1996), the Indo-Israel Cultural Exchange Fellowship (1998), the Biotechnology Overseas Fellowship, Government of India (2008), and the Indo-Hungarian Exchange Fellowship (2011) Indian National Academy Fellowship (2015) and Cardiff　Incoming　Visiting　Fellowship (2017). 　 Presently, he is the coordinator for the Department of Science and Technology, Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence and University Grants Commission innovative programs. Jamuna A. Bai has completed her MSc and PhD in Microbiology from University of Mysore, India. She is working as a Researcher in UGC sponsored University with Potential Excellence Project, University of Mysore, India. She has previously worked as ICMR Senior Research Fellow and carried a research work on food safety, role of quorum sensing and biofilms in food-related bacteria and developing quorum-sensing inhibitors. Her research interests also include antimicrobial application of functionalized nanomaterials against food-borne pathogens.

Section 1. Food safety and hygiene. Microbiology of raw, semiprocessed and processed vegetable and fruit products, meat, poultry and seafoods, dairy products and fermented foods. Emerging and re-emerging infectious food borne diseases. Microbial physiology and pathogenicity of food-borne pathogens –quorum sensing, biofilm formation, infections and toxins. Detection of food borne pathogens using advanced and rapid molecular techniques- culture dependent and independent techniques. Application of nanotechnology and biosensors in pathogen detection and identification. Microbial risk assessment and risk management of various food products and quantitative microbial risk assessment tools. Predictive microbiology and modeling microbial growth in food systems. International and national food safety regulatory agencies, establishing and developing microbiological criteria for food borne pathogens, HACCP development, implementation and impact of regulations and food policies for safety and quality assurance of foods. Section 2. Food preservation. Microbes in food spoilage – Specific spoilage organisms, Mechanisms of food spoilage, Interaction between spoilage organisms, biofilms and biofouling. Modeling microbial growth in food and extension of shelf life of various food products. An overview of intervention technologies in food preservation and their advantages and drawbacks. Biological preservation of foods – bacteriocins, enterocins, food grade enzymes, chitosans, glucans, essential oils, lactic acid bacteria and protective cultures. Emerging intelligent and active packaging techniques, applications and safety concerns. Food preservation by hurdle technology – A combination of ultrasound, irradiation, pulsed electric fields, hyperbaric techniques, thermal and non thermal technologies. Nanotechnology in food preservation and food packaging- application, limitations and future trends. Quorum sensing inhibitors as novel food preservatives-dietary phytochemicals as anti quorum sensing agents.