Tech Intelligence
by Mike May AL
AL us or create delicacies
Microbes in food make most people think of contamination, and with good reason: the list of dangerous microbes that can turn up in food is long.
Instructor Evelyn Gutierrez and her colleagues at the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the Louisiana State University AgCenter (Baton Rouge) recently studied E. coli O157:H7, Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Salmonella, Vibrio vulnificus and microorganisms that cause spoilage in foods. “With new pathogens emerging in foods, probably the main challenge is the development of new technologies to reduce or eliminate pathogens from the food chain,” says Gutierrez. She explains, “We perform analysis to vali- date the food process, to evaluate if specific procedures are controlling, reducing or eliminating biological hazards.”
The critical need for such testing arises from increasing demand. John Donaghy, corporate food safety microbiologist for Nestlé, headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, says, “The public health burden of foodborne ill- ness is huge—causing, for example, approximately 48 million cases of illness each year in the United States.” He adds, “In Europe, the story is similar—5400 foodborne outbreaks reported in 2012, resulting in 55,453 human cases, 5118 hospitalizations and 41 deaths.”
Diana Spitznagel, global product manager for biomonitoring systems at Merck Life Science in Eppelheim, Germany, adds, “With the increas- ing population and food demand, the problem of health issues due to contaminated food will continue to rise, and antimicrobial resistance of pathogens is increasing.” The complexity of the food-illness puzzle also tests scientists. “A major challenge is the linking of illness to a particular pathogen or specific food,” Donaghy says. “This is not always possible; hence many illnesses have an unknown causative agent.”
Microbial contamination can come from many steps during food preparation. Deepa Thakar, national food technical sales manager at EMSL Analytical in Hillside, Ill., says, “Harmful bacteria can enter the production process at various steps, and they are highly adaptable to different environments.”
Not all microbes are hazardous, however. Gutierrez points out that the dangerous microbes make up “a very little proportion of the micro- organisms universe.” She adds, “There are a great number of desirable microorganisms, including yeast to produce beer or bread and mold,
AMERICAN LABORATORY 46
Keeping foods safe from life-threatening microbes requires advanced methods and systems. (Image courtesy of Nestlé.)
MARCH 2016
that give blue cheese its characteristic flavor, aroma and color.” Some condiments—including Louisiana’s famous hot sauces—also rely on microorganisms. “Limited information is available regarding the natural fermentation of the red hot chili pepper mash,” Gutierrez says. “[For] the past few years, I’ve been working on isolating and identifying microorgan- isms involved in hot-sauce fermentation.” She points out that this research is “still a work in progress, but it has been quite a journey.”
Combatting complexity Instead of battling microbial contamination in food after the fact, the food
industry wants to prevent it. “The focus should not only be on testing but also on prevention of outbreaks,” says Spitznagel. “This requires hygienic conditions for [food] handling staff and [for preparation] areas, as well as putting safety processes into place and keeping high standards.” The intricacy of the industry, however, makes this impossible in many cases.
“Food chains become very complex with increased globalization,” Spitznagel says. “Sometimes it is hard to find the source of contamina- tion.” As greater numbers of food products are made, such as those that are ready to eat, tests must be developed that can detect not only
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Microbes Make or Break Foods Depending on where they show up, microorganisms can kill
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