Food microbiology has seen enormous growth in the last decade, fueled by the global pandemic
of COVID-19 and continual routine outbreaks with traditional foodborne pathogens. In addition,
climate change and global warming also affect agriculture and food production, in turn shifting
microbial ecology. Such changes will affect pathogen behavior, spoilage, and microbial growth,
impacting food safety and quality. Health-conscious consumers are also looking for foods with
alternative protein sources from plants and insects, such as fermented, antioxidant, and micronutrient-rich superfoods. All three areas of food microbiology—beneficial, spoilage, and pathogenic microbiology—are expanding and progressing incredibly. What was once a simple process of
counting colonies has become a sophisticated process of sequencing complete genomes, gene editing, and biotechnology for starter cultures and probiotics improvement and application of sophisticated analytical tools for microbial analysis.
Fundamental Food Microbiology, Sixth Edition captures these developments and broadens
coverage of foodborne disease mechanisms, spoilage microbes, and microbial inactivation strategies. Written by experts with approximately 60 years of combined experience, the book provides an
in-depth understanding of how to reduce microbial food spoilage, improve intervention technologies, and develop effective control methods for different types of foods.