Food safety

Abstract

Producing safe food is essential for protecting the health of consumers and for ensuring the sustainability and profitability of food industries, including primary production, food manufacture, food service and retail.. Food safety hazards may result from contamination of food with microbial, physical or chemical hazards. This edition of Microbiology Australia focuses on microbial food safety hazards, including prions, viruses, bacteria and fungi. Technological advancements throughout history, such as pasteurisation, canning and refrigeration, have significantly improved the safety of our food supply; however, foodborne illness remains a global problem impacting on millions of people each year. A recent example is the large outbreak of E. coli O104:H4 that occurred during 2011 in Germany and many other countries across Europe and North America, which affected more than 4,000 people resulting in 50 deaths. The outbreak was associated with seeds used for sprouting that had originated from Egypt. The causative agent, E. coli O104:H4, had acquired new virulence properties in the form of toxin genes carried by bacteriophage, creating a highly pathogenic strain. This outbreak highlighted some of the difficulties faced by those involved in keeping the food we eat safe. Many of these challenges are discussed throughout the articles in this edition of Microbiology Australia.