DESCRIPTION OF SPOILAGE OF FOOD

2. Food spoilage is
the process where
a food product
becomes
unsuitable to
ingest by the
consumer. ...
Bacteria and
various fungi are
the cause
of spoilage and can
create serious
consequences for
the consumers, but
there are
preventative
measures that can
be taken.

3. It is the change of look, consistency, flavor and odor
of foods, and is caused by bacteria, moulds and
yeasts. Bacteria: Examples of action
of bacteria involved in food spoilage: Lactic acid
formation: Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc ,Lipolysis ,
Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes,Serratia, Micrococcus.

4. Bacterial growth always follows a predictable pattern
with four phases: Lag phase: very little to no bacterial
growth. Log phase: the number of bacterial cells
doubles at a constant, exponential rate.
Stationary phase: population growth levels off as the
rate of cell death equals the rate of cell division.

5. The population of microorganisms in the biosphere remains
roughly constant because the growth of microorganisms is
balanced by the death of theseorganisms.
Microbes live in the soil, on rocks, inside roots, buried
under miles of Earth, in compost piles and toxic waste, and
all over the Earth's surface. Microbes are foundi n boiling
hot springs and on frozen snowfields.

6. Intrinsic parameters: The parameters of plant and
animal tissues that are inherent part of the
tissues are referred to as intrinsic parameter.
INHERENT ACIDITY:
Some foods have a low pH because of
inherent property of the food.
Ex.,Fruits and vegetables.

7. Biological ACIDITY
Some foods develop acidity
from the accumulation of
acid during fermentation.
Ex.,Egg white.

8. Redox potential
Oxygen tension or partial pressure of
oxygen about a food and the O R potential
or reducing and oxidizing power of the
food itself,influence the type of organisms
which will grow and hence the changes
produced in food.

9. Associative growth: Association of
microorganisms withinvolvedin spoilage of
most foods.
Microorganisms are not always antagonistic to
each other.
These are sometimes mutually helpful are
symbiotic.