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Modelling microorganisms in food

Edited by S Brul, University of Amsterdam and Unilever Food Research Centre, S Van Gerwen, Unilever Food Research Centre and M Zwietering, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition No. 139

Modelling microorganisms in food will be a standard reference for all those craving for a sound knowledge in the field of food (predictive) microbiology.
Journal of Food and Nutrition Research

 - assesses the latest developments in microbial modelling
 - discusses the issues involved in building models of microbial growth
 - chapters review the use of quantitative microbiology tools in predictive microbiology
 - looks at new approaches to microbial modelling behaviour
 - written by a team of leading experts

Predicting the growth and behaviour of microorganisms in food has long been an aim in food microbiology research. In recent years, microbial models have evolved to become more exact and the discipline of quantitative microbial ecology has gained increasing importance for food safety management, particularly as minimal processing techniques have become more widely used. These processing methods operate closer to microbial death, survival and growth boundaries and therefore require even more precise models. Written by a team of leading experts in the field, Modelling microorganims in food assesses the latest developments and provides an outlook for the future of microbial modelling.

Part one discusses general issues involved in building models of microbial growth and inactivation in foods, with chapters on the historical background of the field, experimental design, data processing and model fitting, the problem of uncertainty and variability in models and modelling lag-time. Further chapters review the use of quantitative microbiology tools in predictive microbiology and the use of predictive microbiology in risk assessment.

The second part of the book focuses on new approaches in specific areas of microbial modelling, with chapters discussing the implications of microbial variability in predictive modelling and the importance of taking into account microbial interactions in foods. Predicting microbial inactivation under high pressure and the use of mechanistic models are also covered. The final chapters outline the possibility of incorporating systems biology approaches into food microbiology.

Modelling microorganisms in food is a standard reference for all those in the field of food microbiology.

ISBN 1 84569 006 0
ISBN-13: 978 1 84569 006 9
March 2007
320 pages  234 x 156mm  hardback  
£150.00 / US$255.00 / €180.00

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About the editors

Professor Stanley Brul is Head of the Molecular Biology Department at the Institute for Life Sciences at the University of Amsterdam and Senior Scientist at the Unilever Food and Health Research Institute, The Netherlands.

Dr Suzanne van Gerwen works for Unilever Foods in The Netherlands.

Professor Marcel Zwietering teaches Food Microbiology at the highly regarded University of Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Titles which may also be of interest:
Microbiological risk assessment in food processing
Mycotoxins in food
Viruses in food and water
Advances in microbial food safety

Contents

PART 1 BUILDING MODELS FOR PREDICTIVE MICROBIOLOGY
PART 2 NEW APPROACHES TO MICROBIAL MODELLING IN SPECIFIC AREAS OF PREDICTIVE MICROBIOLOGY

Introduction
S Brul, SJC van Gerwen and M H Zwietering

PART 1 BUILDING MODELS FOR PREDICTIVE MICROBIOLOGY

Predictive microbiology: past, present and future
T A McMeekin, L A Mellefont and T Ross, University of Tasmania, Australia
 - Introduction
 - Turning data into knowledge
 - Case studies of critical analysis
 - Recent systematic analysis of literature and the advent of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA)
 - QMRA and predictive microbiology
 - Advances in technology for the application of predictive models
 - Conclusions
 - References

Experimental design, data processing and model fitting in predictive microbiology
M A J S van Boekel and M H Zwietering, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
 - Introduction
 - Experimental design
 - Data processing
 - Model fitting
 - Future trends
 - Sources of further information and advice
 - Appendix
 - References

Uncertainty and variability in predictive models of microorganisms in food
M J Nauta, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands
 - Introduction
 - Case study – part 1
 - Imprecise predictive models
 - Case study – part 2
 - A closer look at variability
 - A closer look at uncertainty
 - Separation of uncertainty and variability
 - Case study – epilogue
 - Categorising questions of food professionals
 - GMPs for unpredictable microbes
 - Future trends: towards novel predictive models
 - Conclusions
 - References

Modelling lag-time in predictive microbiology with special reference to the lag phase of bacterial spores
J P P M Smelt and S Brul, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
 - Introduction: general aspects of the lag-time
 - Lag-time of bacterial spores, transformation of the spore to vegetative cells
 - Quantitative aspects, mathematical modelling
 - Lag-times in real foods
 - Conclusions
 - References

Application of models and other quantitative microbiology tools in predictive microbiology
D Legan, Kraft Foods, USA
 - Introduction
 - Definitions
 - Applications of models and databases
 - Access to models
 - Other quantitative microbiology tools
 - Future trends
 - Sources of further information and advice
 - Acknowledgements
 - References

Predictive models in food risk assessment
M Zwietering, University of Wageningen and M J Nauta, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands
 - Introduction: quantitative microbiological risk assessment
 - Quantitative microbiology
 - Recontamination
 - Linking models
 - Information sources
 - Representativity of models
 - Food safety objectives and risk assessment
 - Examples of structured approaches of risk assessment
 - Conclusions
 - References

PART 2 NEW APPROACHES TO MICROBIAL MODELLING IN SPECIFIC AREAS OF PREDICTIVE MICROBIOLOGY

The non-linear kinetics of microbial inactivation and growth in foods
M G Corradini and M Peleg, University of Massachusetts, USA
 - Introduction
 - The traditional primary models of inactivation and growth
 - Traditional secondary models
 - Sigmoid isothermal survival curves
 - Non isothermal inactivation
 - Empirical growth models
 - Simulation of non-isothermal growth curves
 - Conclusions
 - Acknowledgements
 - References

Modelling of high pressure inactivation of microorganisms in foods
A Diels, I Van Opstal, B Masschalck and C W Michiels, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
 - Introduction
 - Factors affecting the microbial inactivation by HP processing
 - Current models: strengths and weaknesses
 - Future trends in the modelling of pressure-temperature processes
 - Conclusions
 - References

Mechanistic models of microbial inactivation behaviour in foods
A A Teixeira, University of Florida, USA
 - Introduction
 - Case for mechanistic models
 - Development of mechanistic models for microbial inactivation
 - Model validation and comparison with others
 - Applications of microbial inactivation mechanistic models
 - Strengths, weaknesses and limitations of mechanistic models
 - Future trends with mechanistic models
 - Sources of further information
 - References

Modelling microbial interactions in foods
F Leroy and L De Vuyst, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
 - Introduction
 - Measuring growth and interactions of bacteria in foods
 - Developing models of microbial interactions
 - Applications and implications for food processors
 - Future trends
 - References

A kinetic model as a tool to understand the response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to heat exposure
F Mesonides, EML Research GmbH, Germany B Bakker, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and S Brul, K Hellingwerf and J Teixeira de Mattos, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
 - Introduction
 - Experimental data
 - The model
 - Validation
 - Conclusions
 - Addendum
 - References

Systems biology and food science
S Brul, University of Amsterdam and H V Westerhoff, Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
 - Introduction
 - Systems biology: biology at last
 - Systems biology and food microbiology
 - Food production: metabolic engineering
 - Food safety
 - Areas for systems food microbiology in microbial food spoilage research
 - Models of microbial ecology and food consumption
 - Sources of further information and advice
 - Acknowledgements
 - Addendums
 - References

Index