Yeasts and moulds: occurrence and control in the food factory

CCFRA Review No. 58 (2007)

A review of the nature of yeasts and moulds, their significance in food manufacturing environments, and methods of controlling them

A large number of yeasts and moulds can cause spoilage problems in a wide range of foods, limiting shelf-life and, potentially, leading to customer complaints and financial losses. Both yeasts and moulds are commonly encountered in the external environment, and it is understandable that this environment is the major source of moulds and yeasts within the food factory. Detailed knowledge of the growth and crosscontamination mechanisms of these organisms in the factory environment is relatively poor, in part because factory studies have concentrated on the growth of bacterial pathogens rather than spoilage organisms.These pathogen-related factory studies have, however, provided a potential model for yeast and mould spoilage work.

This review summarises the biological nature of yeasts and moulds and their significance in relation to different food products and processing regimes. It looks at factors that control their growth, ways in which they get into and move around the factory environment, methods for controlling them (including the growing problem of resistance to various factors), and the latest analytical techniques. It also looks at the production of mycotoxins and other food safety issues such as allergies and gastroenteritis.

Contents

• Introduction
• Description and activities of yeasts
• Spoilage of foods by yeasts
• Public health significance of yeasts in foods and beverages
• Description and activities of moulds
• Yeasts and moulds in bakeries
• Yeasts and moulds in dairies
• Yeasts and moulds in fruit-using factories
• Other foods where yeasts and moulds are important
• Methods for detection and identification of yeasts and moulds

Softcover - 83 pages

ISBN 978 0 907503 42 2

Discounts available for multiple copies - please enquire