ABSTRACT
The internal tissues of plants and animals used as foods are essentially sterile. However, many types of microorganisms capable of causing food spoilage and foodborne diseases enter foods from different sources. This has been discussed in Chapter 3. It is impossible to prevent access of microorganisms in food from these sources. However, it is possible to control their access to food in order to reduce the initial load and minimize microbial spoilage and health hazard. This is what regulatory agencies advocate and food processors try to achieve through sanitation.
