Microbiology by industry
Dairy, meat, beverages, bakery, water and ready-to-eat foods.
11 articles
Articles in this pillar
7 min read
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.
7 min read
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.
6 min read
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.
6 min read
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.
6 min read
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.
6 min read
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.
6 min read
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.
6 min read
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.
7 min read
Total coliforms, E. coli and enterococci in water: what each indicator reveals
How total coliforms, thermotolerant coliforms, E. coli and enterococci in water differ, what each positive means and what the WHO, the EU and the EPA require.
10 min read
Salmonella in chicken meat and poultry products: where it appears, what the standards require and how it is detected
Where poultry meat becomes contaminated with Salmonella during slaughter, what Regulation 2073/2005 and USDA-FSIS require, how the neck skin sample is taken and when PCR is useful compared with ISO 6579-1.
11 min read
Salmonella in eggs and egg products: transmission, washing, pasteurization and microbiological criteria
How Salmonella Enteritidis gets into eggs, why the EU does not wash eggs and the US does, and what FDA (21 CFR 118), FSIS and Regulation 2073/2005 require.