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Microbiology,
PCR and food safety.

Fundamentals, laboratory methods and molecular detection, explained by the TAAG technical team.

Articles from the Learning Center

Fundamentals and standardization

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What are CFU (Colony-Forming Units) and how are they interpreted?

Fundamentals and standardization

What are CFU (Colony-Forming Units) and how are they interpreted?

What a CFU is, how counts in CFU/g or CFU/cm² are calculated and how to interpret limits in a microbiological analysis.

TAAG Team · 8 min

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What is AOAC-PTM certification and why does it matter in food microbiology?

Fundamentals and standardization

What is AOAC-PTM certification and why does it matter in food microbiology?

What AOAC-PTM certification is, how it is obtained and why it is a key backing for adopting a new microbiological detection method in the food industry.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Food microbiology

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What is microbiological food analysis?

Food microbiology

What is microbiological food analysis?

Find out what microbiological food analysis is, what it is used for and which microorganisms the food industry looks for.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Aerobic mesophiles and Enterobacteriaceae: what they indicate about a plant's hygiene

Food microbiology

Aerobic mesophiles and Enterobacteriaceae: what they indicate about a plant's hygiene

What aerobic mesophiles and Enterobacteriaceae are, why they are used as hygiene indicators and how to interpret their counts.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Spoilage microorganisms: yeasts, molds and acidophilic bacteria

Food microbiology

Spoilage microorganisms: yeasts, molds and acidophilic bacteria

What spoilage microorganisms are, why they are not always a health risk, and how yeasts, molds and acidophilic bacteria are detected in food and beverages.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Molecular detection and PCR

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What is PCR in microbiology and how does it work?

Molecular detection and PCR

What is PCR in microbiology and how does it work?

We explain what PCR is in microbiology, how it detects microorganisms and how it differs from traditional culture methods.

TAAG Team · 8 min

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AiGOR™ vs. traditional PCR: technical comparison

Molecular detection and PCR

AiGOR™ vs. traditional PCR: technical comparison

We compare AiGOR™, TAAG's RNA-based detection technology, with traditional DNA-based real-time PCR.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Multiplex PCR: detecting several microorganisms in a single reaction

Molecular detection and PCR

Multiplex PCR: detecting several microorganisms in a single reaction

What multiplex PCR is, how it detects several pathogens or spoilage microorganisms in a single assay, and what limitations it has.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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RNA vs. DNA: which molecule is worth amplifying to detect a living microorganism

Molecular detection and PCR

RNA vs. DNA: which molecule is worth amplifying to detect a living microorganism

What sets RNA apart from DNA as a molecular detection target, why RNA degrades faster, and what that means for distinguishing living cells from dead ones.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Foodborne pathogens

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Salmonella: characteristics, detection and control in the food industry

Foodborne pathogens

Salmonella: characteristics, detection and control in the food industry

What Salmonella is, why it is a risk in food, how it is detected in the laboratory and what control measures the industry applies.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Listeria monocytogenes: risks and detection methods

Foodborne pathogens

Listeria monocytogenes: risks and detection methods

What Listeria monocytogenes is, why it is a critical risk in ready-to-eat foods and how it is detected in the laboratory.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Escherichia coli (E. coli) and STEC: risks and detection in food

Foodborne pathogens

Escherichia coli (E. coli) and STEC: risks and detection in food

What Escherichia coli is, what distinguishes STEC strains, which foods pose the greatest risk and how it is detected in a microbiology laboratory.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Staphylococcus aureus: the pathogen that acts through its toxin, not the live bacterium

Foodborne pathogens

Staphylococcus aureus: the pathogen that acts through its toxin, not the live bacterium

What Staphylococcus aureus is, why its intoxication depends on a heat-stable toxin, and how it is detected and controlled in the food industry.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Vibrio spp.: what it is and why it worries the seafood and aquaculture industry

Foodborne pathogens

Vibrio spp.: what it is and why it worries the seafood and aquaculture industry

What Vibrio spp. is, why it is a growing risk in seafood and aquaculture, and what sets it apart from other foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella or E. coli.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Bacillus cereus and the cereulide toxin: the risk that survives cooking

Foodborne pathogens

Bacillus cereus and the cereulide toxin: the risk that survives cooking

What Bacillus cereus is, how it produces the cereulide toxin and why it survives cooking, with a focus on the foods where it poses the greatest risk.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Campylobacter: the bacterium that causes the most foodborne illness worldwide

Foodborne pathogens

Campylobacter: the bacterium that causes the most foodborne illness worldwide

What Campylobacter is, why it is the leading bacterial cause of foodborne illness and how it is detected and controlled in the poultry industry.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Microbiological sampling

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How to carry out microbiological surface sampling

Microbiological sampling

How to carry out microbiological surface sampling

A practical guide to microbiological surface sampling: materials, swabbing technique and common mistakes to avoid.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Environmental monitoring in food plants: best practices

Microbiological sampling

Environmental monitoring in food plants: best practices

What an environmental monitoring program is, the zone 1-4 system, and how to design one to control Listeria and other pathogens in a plant.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Food safety management

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What is food safety and how does it differ from food security?

Food safety management

What is food safety and how does it differ from food security?

What food safety is, why it is not the same as "food security" (access to food) and how it is managed in industry.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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HACCP: what it is and how it relates to microbiological analysis

Food safety management

HACCP: what it is and how it relates to microbiological analysis

What the HACCP system is, its 7 principles, and how it connects with microbiological analysis and environmental monitoring in a plant.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Food traceability: what it is and why it is key to food safety

Food safety management

Food traceability: what it is and why it is key to food safety

What food traceability is, how the 'one step back, one step forward' principle works and why it is as critical as laboratory analysis.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP): the foundation everything else is built on

Food safety management

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP): the foundation everything else is built on

What Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are, which areas they cover and why they are the prerequisite program on which HACCP is built.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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GFSI schemes and food safety audits: what they are and how to prepare

Food safety management

GFSI schemes and food safety audits: what they are and how to prepare

What GFSI is, which schemes it recognizes (BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000), how a food safety audit is structured and how to prepare your plant.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Food fraud

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What is food fraud and how is it detected in the industry?

Food fraud

What is food fraud and how is it detected in the industry?

What food fraud is, its most common types (adulteration, species substitution, false origin) and what methods can detect it.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Laboratory methods

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Traditional microbiological culture: why it remains the reference method

Laboratory methods

Traditional microbiological culture: why it remains the reference method

How plate culture works, why many regulatory frameworks still require it as the reference, and how it differs from PCR.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Microbiological enrichment: the stage that decides whether a pathogen is detected

Laboratory methods

Microbiological enrichment: the stage that decides whether a pathogen is detected

What enrichment is in food microbiology, why it is key to detecting pathogens at low concentrations, and how it affects total analysis time.

TAAG Team · 5 min

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Nucleic acid extraction: the invisible step before any PCR

Laboratory methods

Nucleic acid extraction: the invisible step before any PCR

What nucleic acid extraction is, why its quality determines the success of a PCR, and which inhibitors a complex matrix can carry along.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Whole genome sequencing (WGS) for outbreaks: the new standard in epidemiological surveillance

Laboratory methods

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) for outbreaks: the new standard in epidemiological surveillance

What whole genome sequencing (WGS) is and how it is used to link cases from the same foodborne outbreak occurring in different places or at different times.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Microbiology by industry

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Microbiology in the dairy industry: risks that change with the process

Microbiology by industry

Microbiology in the dairy industry: risks that change with the process

Which microorganisms pose the greatest risk in milk and dairy products, how that risk varies between pasteurized and aged products, and how it is controlled.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Microbiology in the meat industry: from slaughter to the ready-to-eat product

Microbiology by industry

Microbiology in the meat industry: from slaughter to the ready-to-eat product

Which microorganisms pose the greatest risk in raw, processed and ready-to-eat meat, and how microbiological control changes at each stage.

TAAG Team · 7 min

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Microbiology in beverages: when the pathogen is not the main risk

Microbiology by industry

Microbiology in beverages: when the pathogen is not the main risk

Why in juices, carbonated beverages and beer the greatest microbiological risk is usually spoilage rather than pathogens, and how each is controlled.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Microbiology in fresh fruits and vegetables: the risk of having no cooking step

Microbiology by industry

Microbiology in fresh fruits and vegetables: the risk of having no cooking step

Why fresh products meant to be eaten raw are especially vulnerable to pathogens, and how the risk is controlled from the field to the package.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Microbiology in baking: why baking is not the end of the risk

Microbiology by industry

Microbiology in baking: why baking is not the end of the risk

Why bread and other baked goods remain vulnerable to spoilage by molds and spore-forming bacteria after baking.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Microbiology in confectionery: why chocolate and candy are not risk-free

Microbiology by industry

Microbiology in confectionery: why chocolate and candy are not risk-free

Why low-moisture products like chocolate can harbor Salmonella for months, and what other microbiological risks confectionery faces.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Ready-to-eat foods (RTE): the category with no margin for error

Microbiology by industry

Ready-to-eat foods (RTE): the category with no margin for error

What defines a 'ready-to-eat' (RTE) food, why that category concentrates the greatest Listeria risk, and how its microbiological control is managed.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Water microbiology: why it is analyzed with indicators instead of every possible pathogen

Microbiology by industry

Water microbiology: why it is analyzed with indicators instead of every possible pathogen

Why microbiological water analysis relies on indicator organisms such as E. coli instead of testing for every possible pathogen, and how it is applied in the food industry.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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TAAG technology

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Mila: how artificial intelligence designs the primers of a PCR kit

TAAG technology

Mila: how artificial intelligence designs the primers of a PCR kit

What Mila is, TAAG's platform that uses artificial intelligence to design PCR primers and probes, and what problem it solves compared with manual design.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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Artificial intelligence in food microbiology: where it really fits

TAAG technology

Artificial intelligence in food microbiology: where it really fits

The specific stages of microbiological diagnostics where artificial intelligence is applied today: assay design, result interpretation and predictive models.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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TxA: the software that automatically interprets a PCR kit's results

TAAG technology

TxA: the software that automatically interprets a PCR kit's results

What TxA is, TAAG's software that automatically interprets PCR fluorescence curves, and what role it plays within the laboratory workflow.

TAAG Team · 5 min

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Predictive microbiology: anticipating microbial growth before it happens

TAAG technology

Predictive microbiology: anticipating microbial growth before it happens

What predictive microbiology is, how it mathematically models microbial growth and how it is used to estimate shelf life and risk without relying solely on the laboratory.

TAAG Team · 6 min

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