This document provides information on the classification and characteristics of microorganisms important in food bacteriology. It discusses the morphological, cultural, and physiological characteristics used to classify bacteria. Key points:
- Morphological characteristics include shape, structure, staining, and presence of spores, flagella, or capsules.
- Cultural characteristics refer to a bacteria's appearance and growth patterns on agar plates and in broth, such as colony shape, pigmentation, and turbidity in broth.
- Physiological characteristics involve a bacteria's metabolic activities, like fermentation of carbohydrates and production of acids or gases.
- Several genera of bacteria important in food are described, including Bacillus, Clostridium, E.