Spoilage is a relative term. The presence of microorganisms in food does not necessarily indicate spoilage neither is the presence of pathogenic organisms means that the food is spoilt.
Spoilage refers to decay or decomposition of the food that results in an undesirable nature of the food in taste, texture, odour and appearance. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate between spoilage by microorganisms and harmless growth or the same type of change may be considered disable, in another. For instance, the beneficial aspects of bacteria, yeast and moulds can be noted in the production of compost, wine, garri, ogi and some antibiotics.
A person may consider sour milk spoilt, but the cultured yogurt or cheese made by the same lactic acid fermentation good. Therefore, fermentation may seemly indicate spoilage but production from the fermentation of milk like yogurt, cheese shows that spoilage is a relative term.
Thus, some changes termed spoilage may be only changes in appearance or physical characteristics, although the product has undergone no microbial spoilage and there has been little loss in nutritive value. Hence, each consumer has his own idea about whether a food is spoilt or not, and normally can come to a decision about its edibility without much difficulty based upon his sense of sight, small, taste and touch as well as his past experiences on the evaluation of the quality of the food.
Having seen what spoilage refers to, it will be easy for us to look at the various ways which microbial food spoilage can be caused and consequently controlled.
In general, causes of food spoilage are usually complex in nature. These however biological, chemical and physical factors operating rather simultaneously or in a sequential order than singularly. The principal causes of food spoilage are as follows:
The type of spoilage for a particularly food depend on the large extent of
Foods are normally contaminated with microorganisms, since the entire environment in which we live is colonized by them. The microbial spoilage of food is not an intending plan on the part of microorganism deliberately to destroy our foods, but as a normal function of these organisms in the total economy of all living organisms.
Microorganisms are so small that microscopes are needed to see them. They include bacterial, yeasts and moulds. Their beneficial aspects can be noted in the production of compost, wine, garri, ogi and some antibiotics. The harmful aspects human or animal diseases and food spoilage have led to greater notoriety for the harmful bacteria (pathogenic) because of the serious sequences of such disease as typhoid, dysentery, salmonellas, cholera, streptococcal infections, staphylococcus aurous infections, and food poisoning and botulism.
Our foods are of plant and animal origin. The plants and animals that serve as food sources have both evolved. Intrinsic mechanism that aid them against invasion and proliferation of microorganism and some of these remain in effect in fresh foods many microorganisms can, and do over come these intrinsic parameters and thus bring about the destruction of the plant and animal organic matter by converting it into inorganic. Compounds thereby resulting into spoilage.
These intrinsic parameters are as follows:
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