Rapid Analysis Techniques in Food Microbiology

The food industry, with its diverse range of products (e.g. short shelf-life foods, modified atmosphere packaged products and minimally processed products) is governed by strict food legislation, and microbiological safety has become a key issue. Legally required to demonstrate 'due diligence', food manufacturers are demanding analytical techniques that are simple to use, cost effective, robust, reliable and can provide results in 'real time'. The majority of current microbiological techniques (classical or rapid), particularly for the analysis of foodborne pathogens, give results that are only of retrospective value and do not allow proactive or reactive measures to be imple­ mented during modem food production. Rapid methods for microbial analysis need to be considered in the context of modem Quality Assurance (QA) systems. This book addresses microbiologists, biochemists and immunologists in the food industry, the public health sector, academic and research institutes, and manufacturers of kits and instruments. This volume is an up-to-date account of recent developments in rapid food microbiological analysis, current approaches and problems, rapid methods in relation to QA systems, and future perspectives in an intensely active field. P.D.P. Contributors Public Health Laboratory, Royal Preston Hospital, PO Box F.J. Bolton 202, Sharoe Green Lane North, Preston PR2 4HG, UK. D. M. Gibson Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Torry Research Station, 135 Abbey Road, Aberdeen AB9 8DG, Scotland. P.A. Hall Microbiology and Food Safety, Kraft General Foods, 801 Waukegan Road, Glenview, Illinois 60025, USA. The food industry, with its diverse range of products (e.g. short shelf-life foods, modified atmosphere packaged products and minimally processed products) is governed by strict food legislation, and microbiological safety has become a key issue. Legally required to demonstrate 'due diligence', food manufacturers are demanding analytical techniques that are simple to use, cost effective, robust, reliable and can provide results in 'real time'. The majority of current microbiological techniques (classical or rapid), particularly for the analysis of foodborne pathogens, give results that are only of retrospective value and do not allow proactive or reactive measures to be impleƯ mented during modem food production. Rapid methods for microbial analysis need to be considered in the context of modem Quality Assurance (QA) systems. This book addresses microbiologists, biochemists and immunologists in the food industry, the public health sector, academic and research institutes, and manufacturers of kits and instruments. This volume is an up-to-date account of recent developments in rapid food microbiological analysis, current approaches and problems, rapid methods in relation to QA systems, and future perspectives in an intensely active field. P.D.P. Contributors Public Health Laboratory, Royal Preston Hospital, PO Box F.J. Bolton 202, Sharoe Green Lane North, Preston PR2 4HG, UK. D.M. Gibson Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Torry Research Station, 135 Abbey Road, Aberdeen AB9 8DG, Scotland. P.A. Hall Microbiology and Food Safety, Kraft General Foods, 801 Waukegan Road, Glenview, Illinois 60025, USA Front Matter....Pages i-x History of and prospects for rapid and instrumental methodology for the microbiological examination of foods....Pages 1-28 Development and evaluation of membrane filtration techniques in microbial analysis....Pages 29-60 Evaluation of commercial kits and instruments for the detection of foodborne bacterial pathogens and toxins....Pages 61-103 Microbiological applications of immunomagnetic techniques....Pages 104-130 Automated electrical techniques in microbiological analysis....Pages 131-169 Modern methods for the detection of viruses in foods....Pages 170-195 Luminescence techniques for microbiological analysis of foods....Pages 196-231 Modem methods for detecting and enumerating foodborne fungi....Pages 232-254 Scope for rapid microbiological methods in modern food production....Pages 255-267 Detection and identification of foodborne microbial pathogens by the polymerase chain reaction: food safety applications....Pages 268-289 Back Matter....Pages 291-294 With the rapid introduction of quality assurance and management programmes, traditional microbiological techniques are being replaced by a new, rapid or alternative methods. This work reviews the current status of these techniques, with particular emphasis on detection and estimation systems This highly practical book reviews the current status of these techniques from an international perspective, and with particular emphasis on commercially available detection and estimation systems.