Summary

Microbiological characteristics, like the physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics, are an integral part of the quality of foodstuffs, and play an ever-increasing role in quality grading. Moreover, in most branches of the food industry the inactivation of microbes, and in other cases the promotion of microbial activity, are fundamental aspects of food processing. These considerations underline the technological importance of microbiological testing, not only of raw materials, but also of foods in the course of processing, and finished products. Testing must include the qualitative characterisation and identification of microbes, as well as a quantitative determination of their frequency of occurrence and concentration. This book presents a synthesis of methods currently in use for food-microbiological testing. These have been selected as being easy to carry out during routine microbiological testing in laboratories in factories, and as providing as much useful information as possible for the food industry as a whole. Food microbiologists in both industry and in research laboratories will undoubtedly find this an extremely useful and practical manual."