Contents - 1. Bacteria - Form; Structure; Chemical composition; Physiology; Classification - 2. True fungi - Moulds; Yeasts; Morphology; Principal groups; Biological characteristics - 3. Control of spoilage micro-organisms - Refrigeration; Gas storage; Moisture limitation; Salt; Acid preservatives; Curing; Smoking; Spices; Antibiotics; Fermentation; Air filtration - 4. Containers - Three piece cans; Tinplate; Tin-free steel; Construction of cans; Non-soldered cans; Two piece cans; Easy-open ends; Semi-rigid and flexible packs; Glass containers and closures - 5. Outline of canning operations - Preparation of food; Washing; Peeling; Blanching; Filling; Exhausting; Sealing of containers; Processing; Types of retort; Non-rigid containers; Glass containers; Cooling; Coding - 6. Sources and control of contamination - Raw materials; Plant; Cleaning and disinfection; Containers; Cooling water - 7. Principal spoilage organisms in canned foods - Acidity classification of foods; Low and medium acid products; Acid products - 8. Effects of heat on micro-organisms - Cause of death; Mechanism of heat resistance; Order of destruction; Factors affecting heat resistance; Effect of environment during sporulation; Effect of environment during heating; Effect of recovery medium; Effect of sub-lethal heat treatment; Estimation of heat resistance; Treatment of thermal resistance data - 9. Principles of thermal processing - Thermal death-time data; Standards of processing; Heat penetration; Mechanism of heat transfer; Positioning of thermocouple; Factors affecting heat penetration; Process evaluation; Classical calculation methods; Integrated lethality methods; Microbiological methods - 10. Continuous flow sterilisation and aseptic processing - Nutritional and quality aspects; HTST and UHT processing; Process evaluation; Cooling; Container sterilisation; Filling; Enzyme inactivation and regeneration - 11. The use of radiations in food preservation - Ionising radiations; Factors affecting the radiation resistance of micro-organisms; Sterilisation doses for foods; Complementary effects of radiation and heat; Low dose procedures; Effects of ionising radiations on food; Ultraviolet irradiation - 12. Types of spoilage - Under-processing; Inadequate cooling; Leakage through seams; Pre-process spoilage; Hydrogen swells; Incorrect retort operation; Under-exhausting; Over-filling; Panelling; Rust; Damage - 13. Microbiology of sound canned foods - 'Commercial sterility'; Results of examinations; Theory of fat protection; Air-borne contamination; Canned cured meats; Proposed standards - 14. Bacterial food poisoning - Clostridium botulinum; Clostridium perfringens; Salmonella; Staphylococci-Bacillus cereus; Vibrio parahaemolyticus; Relation of food-poisoning to canned foods; Food idiosyncrasy - 15. Laboratory examination of canned foods - Culture media for routine work; Additional media for routine and special purposes; Outline of examination procedure; Preliminary external examination; Preliminary incubation of samples; Sampling can contents; Technique for sampling swelled cans; Preparation of cultures; Examination of contents; Examination of glass packs; Incubation tests; Aseptic packaging; Examination of canned cured meats - 16. Examination of raw materials, plant and miscellaneous methods - Thermophilic contamination of sugar, starches, milk, powder, spices, etc.; Plant and equipment; Containers; Cooling water; Dilution cultures - 17. Examination of containers - Selection of cans; Preliminary examination; Examination of rolled seams; Defective soldering; Oval and rectangular cans; Flexible pouches - Appendix - Temperature of saturated steam; Sizes of some common round UK open-top cans; Example of calculation of process lethalities; Lethal rates; Summary of causes and control of microbial spoilage of canned food - Index -