Fundamental Food Microbiology, Third Edition - Fuad Fathir

442 FUNDAMENTAL FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
When and how sanitation was introduced in food-handling operations is not
clearly known. However, the consequences of changes in food consumption and
production patterns during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the understanding
of the scientific basis of food spoilage and foodborne diseases, may have
helped enhance food sanitation. An outcome of the Industrial Revolution was an
increased population in cities and urban areas, which needed processed foods for
convenience and stable supply. The foods produced by available processing techniques
were not safe. With the knowledge of microbial association with food spoilage
and foodborne diseases, food-processing techniques to reduce spoilage and ensure
the safety of foods were studied. It was recognized during this time that microorganisms
can get in food from various sources, but that proper cleaning and sanitation
during handling of foods could reduce their levels, and a food with a lower level of
microorganisms could be processed and preserved more effectively to ensure stability
and safety than a food with a high initial microbial load. Thus, sanitation became
an integral part of food-processing operations.
In recent years, more foods than ever are being processed in both developed and
developing countries. In addition, particularly in some countries such as the U.S., many
centralized processing facilities are producing foods in large volume. In these centralized
plants, many types of raw materials and finished products are handled at a rapid
rate. This has been possible because of the availability of needed processing technologies
capable of handling large volumes. Some of the food contact machineries are
extremely complex and automated and require special methods for effective sanitation.
Although our understanding of the mechanisms by which microorganisms contaminate
foods and the means by which that can be intervened have increased, the
volume of foods spoiled and the incidence of foodborne diseases remain high. This
indicates the need for more effective methods to control microbial access to foods
through efficient sanitation (see Appendix D: HACCP).
II. OBJECTIVES
The main objective of sanitation is to minimize the access of microorganisms in
food from various sources at all stages of handling. 1,2 Because the microbial sources
and level of handling vary with each food of plant and animal origin and fabricated
foods, the methods by which microorganisms contaminate foods differ.
Proper sanitation helps reduce the microbial load to desired levels in further
processed food. An example of this is that a low microbial level in raw milk produced
through effective sanitation makes it easier to produce pasteurized milk that meets
the microbial standard. Also, proper sanitation helps produce food that, when properly
handled and stored, will have a long shelf life. Finally, proper sanitation helps
reduce the incidence of foodborne diseases. 1,2
III. FACTORS TO CONSIDER
To minimize the access of microorganisms in foods, the microbiological quality of
the environment to which a food is exposed (food contact surfaces) and the ingre-