About Book

Food plays as one of the indispensable part of people’s life. Food is an essential prerequisite for life and as such the primary goal of eating and drinking is to enable the body to function normally. Access to good quality food has been man’s endeavour from the earliest of human existence. We always look forward to the quality of food to assure its safety as its basic requirement. “Food safety” implies absence or acceptable and safe levels of contaminants, adulterants, naturally occurring toxins or any other substance that may make food injurious to health on an acute or chronic basis. To provide the best preparation, handling and storage is referred to as food safety. And to maintain the size, colour, texture, consistency, etc., is known as food quality check. New laws and regulations are being passed by the government to ensure the safety and quality of food. This book is designed to provide students with knowledgeable insights about the field of food safety and food quality. It focuses on productivity, food processing systems, molecular characterization, disease prevention and flow cytometry applications. It also deals with detection of mycotoxins, food crisis management, food safety legislation and electrochemical sensors for food safety. Most of the topics introduced in this book cover new techniques and the applications of this subject. Coherent flow of topics, student-friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge. It will help researchers & professionals by foregrounding their knowledge in this branch.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Introductory Chapter: Food Safety Concepts.......................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................1

2. Responsibility of food safety..............................................................1

3. Development of national food safety system..................................2

4. Objectives of food safety studies.......................................................2

Chapter 2 Escherichia coli and Food Safety............................................................4

Abstract...................................................................................................4

1. Introduction............................................................................................4

2. Escherichia coli and food poisoning....................................................5

3. Food safety and high-risk foods......................................................11

4. Storage conditions and hygiene in foods.......................................13

5. Different pathotypes of E. coli and outbreaks..............................15

6. Conclusion............................................................................................17

Chapter 3 Electrochemical Sensors for Food Safety............................................24

Abstract.................................................................................................24

1. Introduction..........................................................................................24

2. Heavy metals.......................................................................................26

3. Illegal additives...................................................................................27

4. Pesticide residues................................................................................28

5. Veterinary drugs..................................................................................28

6. Biological toxins..................................................................................29

7. Microbial pathogens...........................................................................30

8. Summary...............................................................................................31

Chapter 4 Food Safety Legislation in Some Developing Countries...............38

Abstract.................................................................................................38

1. Introduction..........................................................................................38

2. Why food safety legislation must work in the developing

economies?............................................................................................40

3. Components of a good national food safety system and the status

of each in the developing countries................................................42

4. Gaps and the hindrances to full implementation of food safety

legislations in developing countries................................................45

5. Case studies: status of food safety legislation in West Africa...46

6. The role of GHI and other professional societies in implementing

food safety legislation in the developing economies...................51

7. Conclusions..........................................................................................56

Acknowledgements.............................................................................57

Chapter 5 Food Safety: Food Crisis Management...............................................59

Abstract.................................................................................................59

1. Introduction..........................................................................................59

2. Basics of food safety...........................................................................60

3. Control scenarios.................................................................................61

4. Hazard to human health...................................................................64

5. Microbiological hazards.....................................................................65

6. Levels of responsibilities and competences...................................67

7. Crisis management.............................................................................67

8. Residues and dioxins.........................................................................69

9. Preventative measures........................................................................71

10. Summary...............................................................................................72

Acknowledgements.............................................................................73

Chapter 6 Improving Food Safety by Using One- and Two-Photon-Induced

Fluorescence Spectroscopy for the Detection of MycotoxinS........74

Abstract.................................................................................................74

1. Introduction..........................................................................................75

2. Methodology and measurement set-up..........................................79

3. Case-study: localized detection of the aflatoxin

contamination.......................................................................................85

4. Extensibility of our research methodology to the detection of

ochratoxin and zearalenone..............................................................99

5. Conclusion..........................................................................................104

Acknowledgements...........................................................................105

Chapter 7 Food Safety – Problems and Solutions.............................................109

Abstract ..............................................................................................109

1. Introduction........................................................................................110

2. The factors that affect food safety.................................................112

3. Food safety systems..........................................................................128

4. Good agricultural practices.............................................................131

5. Conclusion..........................................................................................132

Chapter 8 Flow Cytometry Applications in Food Safety Studies..................139

1. Introduction........................................................................................139

2. Cellular measurements in food microbiology ..........................142

3. Application of flow cytometry to viability assessment and cell

counting ...........................................................................................146

4. Detection of foodborne pathogens ...............................................150

5. Commercial probes .........................................................................156

6. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing ............................................159

7. Applications to food preservation/biopreservation .................164

8. Conclusions .......................................................................................170

Chapter 9 Molecular Characterization and Serotyping of Listeria

monocytogenes with a Focus on Food Safety and Disease

Prevention ................................................................................................184

1. Introduction........................................................................................184

2. Literature review .............................................................................186

3. Materials and methods ...................................................................193

4. Results ................................................................................................196

5. Discussion .........................................................................................203

6. Acknowledgements .........................................................................205

Chapter 10 Improvement of Food Safety and Quality by Statistical Process

Control (SPC) in Food Processing Systems: A Case Study of

Traditional Sucuk (Sausage) Processing...........................................210

1. Introduction........................................................................................210

2. Food safety and quality systems ................................................211

3. Statistical process control ...............................................................220

4. A case study: Some applications of SPC in traditional

sucuk processing ..............................................................................223

5. Conclusion .........................................................................................237

Chapter 11 Impact of Drought Stress on Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Productivity and Food Safety.............................................................241

1. Introduction........................................................................................241

2. Effect of drought on plant performance......................................242

3. Breeding for crop improvement.....................................................246

4. Applications of molecular breeding tools for crop

improvement......................................................................................249

5. Transgenic peanut tolerant to drought.........................................257

6. Future research..................................................................................260

7. Conclusion..........................................................................................260

Citation......................................................................................................275

Index...........................................................................................................277

About Author

Joy Kumar obtained his Ph.D. Degree in Food Science from University of Agriculture and Veterinary, Hokkaido. His interests lie in agricultural marketing, animal health economics, food safety economics, livestock production and management. He is working as a Research Specialist at Technical Institute, Dumaguete. He has authored and edited a number of academic periodicals, journal papers, articles and books in the field of food safety. Kumar is an active member of several technical societies, where he continues to share his expertise and knowledge in the field of food science.