Impact of Unit Operations From Farm to Fork on Microbial Safety and Quality of Foods

Abstract

Unit operations modify material properties aiming to produce uniform and high-quality food products with greater acceptance by the increasingly demanding consumers or with longer shelf life and better possibilities of storage and transport. Microorganisms, including bacteria, molds, viruses, and parasites, may have different susceptibilities to unit operations employed during food processing. On-farm (cleaning, selection and classification, cooling, storage, and transport) and on-factory unit operations (heating, refrigeration/freezing, dehydration, modification of atmosphere, irradiation, and physical, chemical, and microbial-based operations) are commonly employed throughout food production chain. The intensity and combination of unit operations along with food composition, packaging, and storage conditions will influence on the dominance of specific microorganisms, which can be pathogenic or responsible for spoilage. Thus, in the context of food safety objective (FSO), the knowledge and the quantification of the effects caused by each step of processing can enable to control and ensure the quality and safety of manufactured products.

Keywords: Contamination; Food processing; Food safety; Foodborne pathogens; Shelf life; Spoilage.