Microbiology of Thermally Preserved Foods: Canning and Novel Physical Methods

While introducing the principles and processes of industrial-level food canning, the volume clarifies the effects of microorganisms, their ecology, fate, and prevention in canning operations, as well as in other thermal processing techniques, such as aseptic packaging. It covers microbial spoilage and detection for vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and seafood from the raw food materials through individual unit operations, facility sanitation, and packaging. It thus offers a practical introduction to understanding, preventing and destroying microbe-based hazards in food plants that use thermal processes to preserve and package foods. The text surveys major spoilage and pathogenic microbes of interest, explaining their toxicity, product and safety effects, and the conditions of their destruction by heat treatment.

From the Foreword "Not only does this volume contain up-to-date information regarding the types of microbes of interest in heat-treated foods, but it also provides, as a complete resource, details of many aspects of the food chain and processing environment that influences the microflora of thermally-processed foods. This is what I find separates this book from … (other) treatises on heat-processed foods."