ABSTRACT
Microorganisms that can be present in foods for human consumption include viruses, bacteria, yeasts, molds, protozoa, or multicellular parasites. Some foodborne microorganisms in each of these groups can cause disease in humans. Some bacteria, yeasts, and molds can grow in foods to cause spoilage by the production of offensive odors and ›avors or by causing undesirable changes in the appearance or texture of a food. Microorganisms that are neither pathogenic nor involved in spoilage processes may also be present in foods, but such organisms generally have been of little interest to food microbiologists.
