FOOD SPOILAGE BY MICROBES

Food spoilage means the orignal nutritional value, tgexture, flavor

of the food are damaged, the food become harmful to people and unsuitable
to eat.Food must be considered spoiled if it is contaminated with pathogenic
microorganisms or various poisonous agents, such as pesticides, heavy
metals etc.

Microbial food spoilage occurs as a consequence of either

microbial growth in a food or release of extracellular and intracellular
(following cell lysis) enzymes in the food environment.

Bacteria, yeasts and molds are the major causes of food spoilage.
They produce various enzymes that decompose the various constituents of food.

Spoilage of cereal and cereal products by

microbes:
Cereals grains, meals and flour made from them should not be
subject to spoilage if are stored or kept properly because their moisture is content
too low to support even the growth of molds. Now different cereal products are
discussed below:

Cereal Grains & Meals:

A little moisture will result in growth of molds at the surface, where air
is available. A wet mash of the meals will undergo an acid fermentation by lactic
acid and coliform bacteria normally present on the surface of plants. This may be
followed by the alcoholic fermentation by yeasts as soon as the acidity is increased
enough to favor them. The major factors included in the spoilage of stored grain by
molds include microbial content, moisture levels above 12 to 13 %, physical
damage and temperature. Most common species of molds are Aspergillus,
Pencillium and Fusarium. These molds can produce mycotoxins.

Flour:
Dry cleaning and washing, milling and shifting of flour reduce the content
of molds, but important kinds still are represented in whole-grain flours e.g. and
the spoilage would be similar to that described for cereal grains and meals. Slight
moistening of whitening of white flour brings about spoilage by molds. Because of
the variations in microbial content of different lots of flour, the type of spoilage in
a flour paste is difficult to predict. If acid forming bacteria are present, an acid
fermentation begins, following by alcoholic fermentation by yeasts if they are there
and then acetic acid by Acetobacter species. In the absence of lactics and
coliforms, micrococci have been found to acidify the paste.

Bread:
The fermentation taking place in dough for various kinds is due to
microorganisms are desirable and even necessary in making certain kind of bread.
The acid fermentation by Lactics and Coliform Bacteria that is normal in flour
pastes or dough may be too extensive if too much time is permitted, with the result
that the dough beard made from it may be too sour. Excessive growth of
proteolytic bacteria during this period may destroy some of the gas-holding
capacity so essential during the rising of the dough and produce a sticky dough.
The chief types of microbial spoilage of baked bread have been moldiness and
ropiness, usually termed mold and rope.

I.

II.

Mold: molds are the most common and hence the most important cause of
the spoilage of bread and most bakery products. The temp. attained in the
baking procedures usually are high enough to kill all the molds spores in and
on the loaf. They can come from the air during cooling, from handling or
from wrappers. Chief molds involved in the spoilage of bread are bread
mold, Rhizopus Nigricans with its white cottony mycelium and black dots
of sporangia, the green spored Pencillium Expansum, Aspergillus Niger
with its greenish or purplish brown conidial heads and yellow pigment
diffusing into the bread. Molds spoilage is favored by heavy contamination
due to air circulation. During slicing when there is more air is introduced
into loaf. Wrapping especially if the bread is warm when wrapped and
storage in a warm , humid place.
Rope: ropiness of bread is fairly common in home baked bread, especially
during hot weather, but it is in commercially baked bread because of
preventive measures now employed. Ropiness is caused by a mucoid variant
of Bacillius Subtilis. The spores of these species can withstand the
temperature of the bread during baking, which does not exceed 100 0C , can
germinate and can grow if conditions are favorable. The area of ropiness is
yellow to brown in color and is soft, sticky to touch. In one stage the slimy
material can be drawn out into long threads when the bread is broken and
pulled apart. First the odour is evident, then discoloration and finally
softening of the crumb, with stickiness and stringiness.

Red Bread:
Red or bloody bread is striking in appearance but rare in occurrence. The red
color results from growth of pigmented bacteria, usually Serratia
Marcescens an organism that often is brilliantly red on starchy food. Molds
such as Monilia Sitophila may impart a pink to read color to bread. A red
color in the crumb of dark bread has been caused by Oidium Geotrichium.

 Chalky bread is so named because of white, chalklike spots. The defects has
been blamed on the growth of yeast like fungi, Endomycopsis Fibuligera
and Trichosporon variable.
In Cakes and other bakery products molds are main cause of spoilage in
cakes. The deterioration of bread, cakes, pies and other bakery products
caused staling is due to physical damage during holding and not to
microorganisms. Freezing and storage in the frozen conditions is effective in
preventing these changes.
Macroni and tapioca : swelling of moist macroni has been reported to be
caused by gas production by bacteria resembling Enterobacter Cloacae
during the drying of macroni on paper a mold of the genus Monilia has been
found responsible for purple streak at the contact points with the paper
tapioca prepared from the root starch of cassava will spoil if moistened.
Spoilage by an orange pigmented, starch hydrolyzing bacteria.

Spoilage of Milk and Milk Products

by Microbes:

Spoilage occurs when microorganism degrade carbohydrates, protein, fats

of milk produces noxious, end products. It may be seen that Lactobacillus or
Streptococcus species ferment the lactose to lactic acid and acetic acids turning
the milk sour. They may produce enough acid to curdle the protein and form
sour curd. Attack of milk protein by micrococcus, Bacillus or proteus results
into sweet curdling. There is little acid formation. If milk becomes
contaminated with Gram negative rods of coliform group of bacteria, such as
Ecoli or Enterobacter aerogenes or Clostridum sp.. there is acid and gas
formation from the lactose. This stormy fermentation causes the explosion of
curds. Ropiness, like bread develops from Alcaligenes, Klebsiella and
Enterobacter. Serratia marcescens causes the development of a red pigment.

Gas Production: accompanied by acid production. Chief gas formers are

coliform bacteria, clostridium species, bacillus species that yield both hydrogen
and carbon-dioxide. Foam at top of the milk, floating curd containing gas
bubbles. Propionic acid forming bacteria are not active in milk but form gas in
cheese.

Proteolysis: hydrolysis of milk protein by microbes accompanied by

production of bitter flavor caused by some of the peptides released. Favoured

by storage at low temperature by destruction of lactics former by heat or by

neutralization of acids.

Ropiness: occur in milk cream or whey. Non-bacterial ropiness is caused by

stringiness caused by mastitis, in particular by fibrin or leukocyte from cow`s
blood. Sliminess resulting from thickness of cream. Stringiness due to thin film
of casein. Bacterial ropiness is caused by slimy capsular material from the cells.

Changes in milk fat; milk fat may be decomposed by various bacteria yeast
and molds. Changes in milk fat takes place due to the oxidation of unsaturated
fatty acids, hydrolysis of butterfat to fatty acids and glycerol by lipase,
combined oxidation and hydrolysis to produce rancidity.

Flavor changes: sour or acid flavor due to streptococcus lactis and

Clostridium species. Bitter flavor milk from cow late in their lactation is
sometimes bitter. Burnt or caramel flavors due to strains of streptococcus lactis
and maltigenes.

Colour changes: affected by amount and yellowness of butterfat, thinness of

milk, content of blood and pus and feed of animal. Blue milk : Pseudomonas
syncyanea, streptococcus lactis, actinomycetes or geotrichum mold. Yellow
milk: pseudomonas synxantha, flavobacterium. Red milk: Serratia
marcescens , brevibacterium erythrogenes, micrococcus roseus. Brown milk:
pseudomonas putrefaciens, p.flourescens.

Spoilage of Meat and Meat Products by Microbes:

Meat Spoilage:
Raw material is subject to change by its own enzymes and
microbial action and its fat may be oxidized chemically. Autolysis changes
include some proteolytic action on muscle and connective tissue and slight
hydrolysis of fats. The defect caused by excessive autolysis has been called
souring.

Invasion of tissue by microorganism

Upon the death of animal, invasion of tissue by contaminating
microorganism takes place. Factor influence that invasion includes the load in

the gut of the animal. The physical condition of the animal immediately before
slaughter. The method of killing and bleeding. And rate of cooling.

Growth of microorganism in meat

Meat is an ideal culture for many microbes because it is high in moisture,
rich in nitrogenous foods of various degree of complexity, and plentifully
supplied with minerals and accessory growth factor. Also it usually has some
fermentable carbohydrates (glycogen) and is at favorable pH for most microorganism.