Microbiological properties on ready-to-eat food

The ready-to-eat food provides nutrients for us every day. However, the cases of food poisoning outbreaks world-wide has increased public awareness about food safety (Mead et al., 1999; Nguz, 2007). The possible factors such as processing and handling can affect the composition of microorganism on ready-to-eat food. Besides that, this can definitely increase the presence of E. coli and S. aureus in foods (Legnani, Leoni, Berveglieri, Mirolo, & Alvaro, 2004). Therefore, quality of the ready-to-eat-food has been examined by investigator worldwide (Johannessen et al., 2002).

Furthermore, food poisoning related to ready-to-eat foods have been found to associate with different kinds of microorganism such as E. coli, Staphylococcus Aureus, B. cereus, coliforms and Pseudomonas spp. (Gibbons, Adesiyun, Seepersadsingh, and Rahaman,2006; Gilbreth et al., 2005). Besides that, bacteria normally multiply very fast as the nutrient provided is enough for them. Isolation of microorganism can be easily done in some foods such as milk, meat and cheese (Le Loir, Baron, & Gautier, 2003).

In addition, the aim of this study is to determine the microbiological properties of a variety of ready-to-eat food in Wangsa Maju area. Therefore, the results obtained provide the basic information about the microbiological quality of these food samples. After that, I will compare the total plate count of the bacteria to the microbiological standard guideline. The guideline identifies four categories of microbiological quality for ready-to-eat foods ranging from satisfactory to potentially hazardous.  Besides that, this reflects the high level of microbiological quality that is achievable for ready-to-eat foods in Australia and New Zealand and indicates the level of contamination that is considered to present a significant risk to public health.

Article name: Microbiological properties on ready-to-eat food essay, research paper, dissertation