Nobody wants to get sick from eating their food. Unfortunately, it happens, and in most cases it is due to some sort of microorganism in your food. In order to prevent these illnesses, producers need to understand which microorganism can grow on their food and how they can prevent them from being and growing there. Understanding microorganisms is an essential tool to make safe food!
But that’s not all. Microorganisms can’t just make us sick. They can also transform our food into some even more delicious. Yogurt, cheese, beer, wine, soy sauce, kimchi, sauerkraut and many more foods wouldn’t exist without microorganisms.
Food microbiologist study all microorganisms in food, both those that make us sick and those that help us make good food. Food microbiology is an important field within the food science discipline. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to make good & safe food.
Some possible scenarios that food microbiologist might be studying are:
Scientists publish their research outcomes in scientific journals. One of the journals dedicated to the field of food microbiology is appropriately called just that, ‘Food Microbiology’. This journal will publish articles on the following topics: