Food microbiology

Code

Course teacher

Associate teachers

Status of the course

Course objectives

Students learn to understand the role of microorganisms in the food processing, preservation and safety and their impact on food spoilage, diseases transmitted by food as well as application of laboratory methods and techniques used in the control of microorganisms and food safety, quality and food safety control and the role of microorganisms in health promotion.

Course enrolment requirements and entry competences required for the course

Attended General microbiology

Learning outcomes expected at the level of the course (4 to 10 learning outcomes)

Students completing this course should be able to:
- understand the role of microorganisms in food processing, preservation and safety;
- describe the factors that influence microbes in food, which can cause food spoilage;
- identify some of the standard methods and some recent rapid and automated methods for detection and enumeration of microorganisms;
- explain the various physical methods of food preservation, the role of antimicrobial chemicals and industrial strategies of ensuring safe foods;
- apply basic skills in isolation, analysis and identification of microorganisms that cause spoilage of food, microorganisms used in the production of food and microorganisms that can cause diseases by consuming contaminated food.
- understand the causes of diseases transmitted by food and its etiology;
- estimate the necessary measures to control undesirable microorganisms in food.
- effectively and collegially work with others in the microbiology laboratory and class setting.

Course content broken down in detail by weekly class schedule (syllabus)

1. History and development food microbiology. Microbes in foods-characteristics and sources. (2 hours)
2. Microbial Growth Response in the food. Factors influencing microbial growth in food. (2 hours)
3. Microorganisms as indicators of food safety and microbiological criteria GMP, GHP, HACCP. (2 hours)
4. Indicators of food contamination. Determination of the number of fecal coliforms and enterococci in various food samples, and Escherichia coli. (2 hours)
5. Food spoilage-important factors affecting food spoilage; spoilage of different food groups and associated microorganisms. (2 hours)
6. Food poisoning and foodborne infection-Important facts in foodborne diseases; causes of food borne diseases, role of microorganisms, importance of predisposing factors in the occurrence of a foodborne disease; foodborne intoxications; foodborne infections; new and emerging foodborne pathogens.
(2 hours)
7. Gram-positive bacteria in food (Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes). Isolation and micromorphology, colonial morphology and biochemical identification. (2 hours)
8. Gram-positive sporogenic bacteria (Bacillus cereus, B. anthracis, Clostridium perfringens, C. botulinum). Isolation and identification spore forming bacteria.
(2 hours)
9. Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella, Shigella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Enterobacter sakazakii, Yersinia enterocolitica). Isolation and identification Gram-negative bacteria. (2 hours)
10. Yeasts and molds mycotoxins (aflatoxins, patulin, ochratoxin, F-2 toxin) in food and feed. (2 hours)
11. Viruses: Hepatitis, Rotaviruses Caliciviruses Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses, prions: new variant CJD. (2 hours)
12. Worms: Taenia and Trichinella and Protozoa: Sarcocystis, Giardia and Toxoplasma. (2 hours)
13. Control of microorganisms in foods-Cleaning and sanitation; physical removal, heat, low temperature, Aw, low pH and organic acids, modified atmosphere, antimicrobial preservatives, irradiation. (2 hours)
14. Uses of microorganisms in the food industry- microorganisms used in food fermentations; fermented food and beverage production; production of food ingredients and enzymes of microbial origin. (2 hours)
15. Special projects: Microbial analysis, isolation and identification of bacteria in different food samples. (2 hours)
Lab exercises will include: Enumeration of the total number of bacteria (CFU - standard plate count ) milk , water , shellfish and meat. Determination of fecal coliforms and enterococci in various food samples, and Escherichia coli. Isolation and identification of Gram-positive bacteria in the food (Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes ). Enumeration of Gram-positive sporogenic bacteria (Bacillus cereus, B. anthracis, Clostridium perfringens, C. botulinum). Isolation and identification of Enterobacteriaceae (Salmonella, Shigella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Enterobacter sakazakii, Yersinia enterocolitica). Micromorphology, colonial morphology, biochemical identification Gram-negative bacteria (Campylobacter, Vibrio, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Yeast and molds and canned foods. Isolation and identification worms: Taenia and Trichinella and protozoa: Sarcocystis, Giardia and Toxoplasma. Detection of antimicrobial susceptibility of bacteria in foods.

Format of instruction:

Student responsibilities

Admission to the lectures in the amount of at least 70% of the times scheduled. Completed all planned laboratory exercises, seminar essay and projects.

Optional literature (at the time of submission of study programme proposal)

Food Microbiology: An Introduction by T.J. Montville, K.R. Matthews & K.E. Kniel, Third edition, ASM Press, 2012.

Quality assurance methods that ensure the acquisition of exit competences

Quality assurance will be performed at different levels: Keeping records of his attendance; Annual performance analysis examination; Student surveys in order to evaluate teachers; Self-evaluation of teachers; Feedback from students who have already graduated from the relevance of content items.

Other (as the proposer wishes to add)