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Food Microbiology | Food Technology | Food microbiology is the study of the microorganisms that inhabit, create, or contaminate food. Of major importance is the study of microorganisms causing food spoilage. "Good" bacteria, however, such as probiotics, are becoming increasingly important in food science. In addition, microorganisms are essential for the production of foods such as cheese, yogurt, other fermented foods, bread, beer and wine.

Food microbiology encompasses the study of microorganisms which have both beneficial and deleterious effects on the quality and safety of raw and processed meat, poultry, and egg products. Food microbiology focuses on the general biology of the microorganisms that are found in foods including: their growth characteristics, identification, and pathogenesis. Specifically, areas of interest which concern food microbiology are: food poisoning, food spoilage, food preservation, and food legislation. Pathogens in product, or harmful microorganisms, result in major public health problems in the United States as well as worldwide and is the leading causes of illnesses and death.

The focus of Food Microbiology is on the detection and analysis of foodborne spoilage microorganisms.

Food microbiology is the study of food microorganisms; how we can identify and culture them, how they live, how some infect and cause disease and how we can make use of their activities.

Microbes are single-cell organisms so tiny that millions can fit into the eye of a needle.

They are the oldest form of life on earth. Microbe fossils date back more than 3.5 billion years to a time when the Earth was covered with oceans that regularly reached the boiling point, hundreds of millions of years before dinosaurs roamed the earth.

The field of food microbiology is a very broad one, encompassing the study of microorganisms which have both beneficial and deleterious effects on the quality and safety of raw and processed foods.

Food science is a discipline concerned with all aspects of food - beginning after harvesting, and ending with consumption by the consumer. It is considered one of the agricultural sciences, and it is a field which is entirely distinct from the field of nutrition. In the U.S., food science is typically studied at land-grant universities.

Examples of the activities of food scientists include the development of new food products, design of processes to produce these foods, choice of packaging materials, shelf-life studies, sensory evaluation of the product with potential consumers, microbiological and chemical testing. Food scientists in universities may study more fundamental phenomena that are directly linked to the production of a particular food product.

Food scientists are generally not directly involved with the creation of genetically modified (bio-engineered) foods.