FOOD 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Fermentation Starter, Acetic Acid, Acetobacter

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Food Science
• Course: FOOD 2010
• Professor: Massimo Marcone

Document Summary

Typical indications of spoilage include: mold growth, presence of slime, discolouration, existence of gas bubbles or gas pockets, soft, mushy texture; presence of exudate, off-odours (i. e. sulfurous, putrid, sour, alcoholic, of-flavours (i. e. bitter, yeasty) In a home/food service setting, spoilage is not usually determined by lab analysis of microbial populations generally we make judgements based on sensory attributes. However, lab procedures are carried out on food samples by food companies and public health authorities. Non-selective testing for aerobic microbial load is routinely conducted for quality control purposes in the food industry. There are an assortment of pathogenic organisms in foods that can potentially kill or make you sick some examples include: bacteria, toxin-producing molds, viruses, parasites. Pathogenic organisms are found in a wide variety of foods and are typically resident in farm environments where raw commodities are grown. Extremely difficult (if not impossible) and expensive to find food that is totally sterile.