M4 Lecture 4 Microorganism in Food
M4 Lecture 4 Microorganism in Food
Food
production
Microorganisms
Food spoilage
Why use microbes as “master chef”
in food production?
• Nonpathogenic
• Recombinant fermentation-produced
chymosin (FPC) is used in 60% of USA
cheeses
Amino acids
• Has an advantage over chemical
production, because only forms L-
isomer
• L-glutamate is used to make the flavor
enhancer monosodium glutamate
(MSG)
• Lysine and methionine cannot be
synthesized by animals. Thus, are
produced as cereal food supplements
• Phenylalanine and aspartate are
ingredients in sugar-free sweetener
aspartame
• Sometimes need to select mutants
that produce amino acids in excess
Other microbial food products
Enzymes
• Example 1: Amylase (from bloom of molds) are used in the production of syrups from
corn starch as the enzyme catalyzes the breakdown of starch into sugars. α-Amylases can
be produced from Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus stearothermophilus
• Example 2: Glucose isomerase converts glucose to fructose, as a sweetener
Vitamins
• Microbes can provide an inexpensive source of some vitamins (B 12, B2, C). Large scale
production of vitamin B12 occurs via microbial fermentation, predominantly utilizing
Pseudomonas denitrificans, Propionibacterium shermanii, or Sinorhizobium meliloti
Pharmaceuticals
• Antibiotics are typically made industrially by
inoculating a solution of growth medium with
spores of the appropriate mold or Streptomyces
and vigorously aerating it.
• Microorganisms can synthesize steroids from
sterols
Food Spoilage
• Food contamination: conditions created to
grow desirable microbes may also favor the
growth of harmful microbes
food spoilage and food poisoning
• Freezing:
- Keeps food at sub-zero temperatures
(e.g. -20oC), also won’t kill microbes but
stop them growing
- Slows down biochemical (enzymatic)
reactions in microbes and freezes water
in food (making it unavailable to
microbes).
- Can preserve food for months
Methods to prevent food spoilage -
Dehydration
• Salting:
- Inhibits growth of microbes by removing
water from food by osmosis.
- Some meats are salted, and canned
foods are stored in salt solutions.
• Sugaring:
- e.g., fruit jams.
Methods to prevent food spoilage
- Affecting pH or microbial metabolism
• Pickling:
- Preserves food in vinegar
- Low pH (<4.6) reduces enzyme activity in
microbes growth inhibition