Fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables have an excellent safety record. However, surveillance data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recent foodborne illness outbreaks have demonstrated that the incidence of foodborne illnesses linked to the consumption of contaminated fresh fruit and vegetable products may in fact be more prevalent than previously thought. U.S. FDA and USDA microbiological surveys of domestic and imported fresh fruits and vegetables demonstrate that human pathogens are sporadically found to be associated with fresh produce. In addition to increased safety concerns, microbial spoilage represents a significant source of waste for growers, packers, retailers, and consumers. Microbiology of Fruits and Vegetables reviews the extensive research that has been conducted on microbiological problems relating to the safety and spoilage of fruits and vegetables in recent years. It considers incidences of human pathogen contamination, sources of microbial contamination, microbial attachment to produce surfaces, intractable spoilage problems, efficacy of sanitizing treatments for fresh produce, novel interventions for produce disinfection, and methodology for microbiological evaluation of fruits and vegetables. The text is divided into five sections: (I) contamination and state of microflora on fruits and vegetables (II) microbial spoilage of fruits and vegetables (III) food safety issues (IV) interventions to reduce spoilage and risk of foodborne illness (V) microbiological evaluation of fruits and vegetables. In Microbiology of Fruits and Vegetables, the editors, three leaders in the field, have endeavored to present a comprehensive examination, focusing on issues needing coverage, rather than attempting an encyclopedic compilation. They have selected chapter authors who are active researchers in their respective fields and thus bring a working knowledge of current issues, industry practices, and advances in technology.

Fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables have an excellent safety record. However, surveillance data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recent foodborne illness outbreaks have demonstrated that the incidence of foodborne illnesses linked to the consumption of contaminated fresh fruit and vegetable products may in fact be more prevalent than previously thought. U.S. FDA and USDA microbiological surveys of domestic and imported fresh fruits and vegetables demonstrate that human pathogens are sporadically found to be associated with fresh produce. In addition to increased safety concerns, microbial spoilage represents a significant source of waste for growers, packers, retailers, and consumers. Microbiology of Fruits and Vegetables reviews the extensive research that has been conducted on microbiological problems relating to the safety and spoilage of fruits and vegetables in recent years. It considers incidences of human pathogen contamination, sources of microbial contamination, microbial attachment to produce surfaces, intractable spoilage problems, efficacy of sanitizing treatments for fresh produce, novel interventions for produce disinfection, and methodology for microbiological evaluation of fruits and vegetables. The text is divided into five sections: (I) contamination and state of microflora on fruits and vegetables (II) microbial spoilage of fruits and vegetables (III) food safety issues (IV) interventions to reduce spoilage and risk of foodborne illness (V) microbiological evaluation of fruits and vegetables. In Microbiology of Fruits and Vegetables, the editors, three leaders in the field, have endeavored to present a comprehensive examination, focusing on issues needing coverage, rather than attempting an encyclopedic compilation. They have selected chapter authors who are active researchers in their respective fields and thus bring a working knowledge of current issues, industry practices, and advances in technology.

Easy-to-follow experiments for building essential lab skills

Yousef and Carlstrom’s Food Microbiology: A Laboratory Manual serves as a general laboratory manual for undergraduate and graduate students in food microbiology, as well as a training manual in analytical food microbiology. Focusing on basic skill-building throughout, the Manual provides a review of basic microbiological techniques–media preparation, aseptic techniques, dilution, plating, etc.–followed by analytical methods and advanced tests for food-bourne pathogens. The Manual includes a total of fourteen complete experiments.

The first of the Manual’s four sections reviews basic microbiology techniques; the second contains exercises to evaluate the microbiota of various foods and enumerate indicator microorganisms. Both of the first two sections emphasize conventional cultural techniques. The third section focuses on procedures for detecting pathogens in food, offering students the opportunity to practice cultural, biochemical, immunoassay, and genetic methods. The final section discusses beneficial microorganisms and their role in food fermentations, concentrating on lactic acid bacteria and their bacteriocins. This comprehensive text also:

• Focuses on detection and analysis of food-bourne pathogenic microorganisms like Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella
• Includes color photographs on a companion Web site in order to show students what their own petri plates or microscope slides should look like:
  http://class.fst.ohio-state.edu/fst636/fst636.htm
• Explains techniques in an accessible manner, using flow charts and drawings
• Employs a "building block" approach throughout, with each new chapter building upon skills from the previous chapter

Food Microbiology: A Laboratory Manual provides an ideal text companion for an undergraduate or graduate laboratory course, offering professors an authoritative frame of reference for their own supplementary materials.