Items Tagged with 'spoilage'

Spoilage microorganisms present an important and complex challenge for food manufacturers, affecting production processes, product quality, retailer relationships, consumer satisfaction, food loss and waste, and ultimately, the bottom line.

This episode of Food Safety Five discusses new research on the use of cold plasma technologies for biofilm inactivation and reducing allergenic risk, deriving more accurate “sell by” dates based on microbial changes on meat, and ultra-processed food nutrition and purchasing realities.

Consumers often throw away meat that is still safe to eat based on the “sell by” date. Auburn University researchers are investigating methods to predict meat spoilage based on microbial activity, which would enable more accurate “sell by” dates.

The low-cost approach enables simultaneous detection of multiple foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms in a shorter timeframe than traditional detection methods, without requiring advanced technical training. 

The SMARTBIOME platform combines high‑resolution DNA sequencing with bioinformatics and data science, an exclusive spoilage knowledge base, and expert consulting services to translate microbiological data into actionable insights.

The scientific opinion was published to provide a scientific basis for possible amendments to existing requirements in EU legislation for food business operators on the freezing of meat.

A recent study of Pseudomonas spoilage microorganisms isolated from dairy products in Spain identified the presence of highly biofilm-forming, antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) strains, presenting challenges for dairy industry control strategies, and posing the risk of transfer of AMR genes to pathogenic foodborne bacteria.

New artificial nose technology developed by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) could make it possible to reliably detect and identify spoiled and damaged food through smell.

Food spoilage is the result of several factors, one of which is the level of moisture in the food. Flash freezing can be used to reduce spoilage in plant-based milk. Several interventions can improve quality and safety, especially with regard to packaging.

A recent study has demonstrated the superior capability of “electronic tongue” (e-tongue) technology when detecting spoilage microorganisms in wine, in comparison to traditional human sensory evaluation.