ABSTRACT
The microbial quality of food is of utmost importance. It is in fact the first and foremost task of a food technologist to produce safe food. The risk of contamination and growth of pathogenic microorganisms is much larger than that of toxic or mutagenic substances. Foods are very vulnerable to microbes because the required nutrients for microbial growth are usually present in sufficient amounts. In addition, foods may contain spoilage-inducing microorganisms. Thus, it is very important to be able to calculate how fast microorganisms will grow in a food. Having such knowledge is the basis for prediction of shelf life in relation to microbial activity, calculation of risks, and optimization of fermentation processes. Microbial growth is typically a kinetic problem, so it is appropriate to discuss some principles in this book.
