Food Microbiology and Biotechnology Essay Example

hygiene in production of food. This helps to maximize the use of enzymes in food production. This program of food production is only a success through the combination safety processing measures and innovative ideas on food production. Food production is very important topic on environment, biology and biotechnology.

The most commonly used microorganism in food production id the yeast, bacteria and even the moulds. These microorganisms are used in fermentation of food. The foods produced from these microorganisms include the cheese, meat, fish, bread, wine and fermented vegetables. Food preservation can be done through fermentation. This process not only preserves food but also improves the quality and the nutritional status of the food content. Fermentation prevents food spoilage and contamination (Corte et al 207).

Controlling the production process is very important so as to produce the high quality materials. Quality control measures are required to be taken courteously. After production, the product should keenly be examined before being taken to the market to avoid releasing under standard products. This control might not be achieved because the microorganisms used in production are very destructive thus proofing difficult. Therefore, a well developed team should be developed to manage the quality of the product produced. Most of the bacteria that the we deal with are very harmful and can cause diseases, therefore great care and measures should be taken while handling the microorganisms to prevent infections during food production. Understanding these microorganisms, their characteristics and adaptation is important as it helps to know how to handle them. Biotechnology is therefore of much importance as it enables scientists to manage food and the bacteria that affects them. This helps in coming

up with new methods of controlling the microorganisms in food production.

Food Safety

To achieve a food care viewpoint, stringently lytic phages are probably one of the most inoffensive antiseptic tactics available.
Phages offer benefits as bio- control agents for numerous reasons: (i) high specificity to aim their host determined by bacterial cell wall receptors, leaving unharmed the remaining microbiota, a property that favors phages over other antimicrobials that can cause microbiota collateral damage; (ii) self-replication and limiting, meaning that low or single dosages will increase for there is still a host threshold present, increasing their general antimicrobial influence; (iii) as bacteria mature phage resistance for their survival, phages continuously adapt to these altered host systems; (iv) low inherent toxicity, since they consist mostly of nucleic acids and proteins; (v) phages are relatively cheap and easy to isolate and propagate but may become time consuming when considering the development of a highly virulent, broad-spectrum, and non-transducing phage; (vi) they can generally withstand food processing environmental stresses (including food physiochemical conditions); (vii) they have proved to have prolonged shelf life. Phages are readily abundant in foods and have been isolated from a wide variety of raw products (e.g., beef, chicken) 6, 7, processed food (e.g., pies, biscuit dough, and roast turkey) 8, fermented products (e.g., cheese, yoghurt) 9, and seafood (e.g., mussels and oysters) 8, 10. This suggests that phages can be found in the same environments where their bacterial host(s) (Corte et al 207).

Inhabit, or once were present and that phages are daily consumed by humans. Furthermore, the use of antibiotics prophylactically and therapeutically in farm animals has become a major concern due to their possibility of contributing

to the declining efficacy of the antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections in humans and leading to the alarming emergence of superbugs like Salmonella DT104 and the methicillin-resistant and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The use of phages to promote food safety can be basically done at four different stages along the food chain (Figure 1).Figure 1: Feasible applications of phages along the food chain towards an increased food safety (adapted from Greer 18).

Reduction of pathogens colonization in animals during primary production (phage therapy) is a strategy followed in primary production just before slaughter or during animal growth to reduce the probability of cross-contamination with the animal feces during food processing. For example, it is estimated that a reduction of 2 log on the Campylobacter loads in poultry intestines is sufficient to diminish 30-fold the incidence of campylobacteriosis associated with consumption of chicken meals 11. The proof of principle of phage therapy in animals was already established for several pathogens (detailed description below). Phages can be administered orally, incorporated in drinking water or food, to control Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry, or by spray to target avian pathogenic E. coli in poultry, and orally/rectally to control E. coli in ruminants.

Reduction of colonization on foods (biocontrol) during industrial food processing can be accomplished by applying phages directly on food surfaces, for example, in case of meats, fresh produce, and processed foods or even mixed onto raw milk. Experimental data reveals that phages are very effective against actively growing bacteria and lose effectiveness in non-growing bacteria 12. In these cases, effective control could be achieved, applying high titres of phages to control pathogens by “lysis from without” mechanisms 6,

13 or whenever phages start to replicate immediately after the food begins to warm (i.e., during preparation, handling, and/or consumption) (Tall 49).

In food industry, biofilms are found on the surfaces of equipment used, for example, in food handling, storage, or processing, especially in sites that are not easy to clean or to sanitize. Some of the work using phages against in vitro biofilms formed by spoilage and pathogenic bacteria show that under ideal conditions significant viable cell reductions are achieved and thus, their use for biosanitation is promising although very challenging due to the diversity of bacteria found in different settings.

Work Cited

1. Bridier, Arnaud, et al. "Biofilm-associated persistence of food-borne pathogens." Food microbiology 45 (2015): 167-178.
2. Corte, Laura, et al. "Phenotypic and molecular diversity of Meyerozyma guilliermondii strains isolated from food and other environmental niches, hints for an incipient speciation." Food microbiology 48 (2015): 206-215.
3. Tall, Ben D. "We are What We Eat: Should Food Microbiology Take the Lead on Understanding How the Homeostasis of the Gut Microbiome Influences Human Health And Disease?." IAFP 2016 Annual Meeting. Iafp, 2016.