Control of vegetative micro-organisms in foods

Microbes share our food whether we want them to or not. We need to control microbial proliferation in foods in order to avoid spoilage, to enhance fla vour and, most importantly, to reduce the risk of food-borne illness. A bro ad spectrum of interventions are available to control microbial growth, but the most widely used is temperature. The use of temperature to control met abolically active bacteria is discussed briefly in the context of current p ractices. The marketing and legislative climate has provided an impetus to develop an ever-widening range of systems for microbiological control. This short review highlights some of the problems associated with such novel co ntrol systems, including selection of new spoilage agents or food-borne pat hogens, and the difficulties of monitoring the efficiency of microbial cont rol in the light of a better understanding of bacterial physiology.