Microbiology of Thermally Preserved Foods: Canning and Novel Physical Methods - Softcover

While introducing the principles and processes of industrial-level food canning, the volume clarifies the effects of microorganisms, their ecology, fate, and prevention in canning operations, as well as in other thermal processing techniques, such as aseptic packaging. It covers microbial spoilage and detection for vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and seafood from the raw food materials through individual unit operations, facility sanitation, and packaging. It thus offers a practical introduction to understanding, preventing and destroying microbe-based hazards in food plants that use thermal processes to preserve and package foods. The text surveys major spoilage and pathogenic microbes of interest, explaining their toxicity, product and safety effects, and the conditions of their destruction by heat treatment.

Tibor Deák, Ph.D., D.Sc., is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Food Science of the University of Economics, Budapest, Hungary. Dr. Deák received his B.Sc. degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Szeged in 1957, and his M.Sc. degree in microbiology from the Eotvos University of Budapest in 1963. He received his Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees in biological sciences in 1970 and 1989, respectively, from the Biology Section, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. After gaining experiences at the Budapest Canning Co. and the Research Institute for the Canning Industry, he was appointed an Assistant Professor in Microbiology at the University of Horticulture and Food Science in 1967. He became an Associate Professor in 1970 and full Professor in 1980. Dr. Deak was appointed the Head of the Department from 1970 to 1996, and served two terms as Dean of the Faculty of Food Science and Technology (1986–1991) and one term as the Rector of the University (1993–96). Dr. Deak has been the President of the Hungarian Scientific Society for Food Industry, and currently is Vice-President of the International Committee for Food Microbiology and Hygiene, a board member of the International Committee for Yeast, International Committee for Food Mycology, Hungarian Society of Microbiology, and a member of the World Federation of Culture Collection, the European Culture Collection Organization, and the American Society of Microbiology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and a Distinguished Fellow of the Kansas State University, Dr. Deak is author or co-author of more than 230 research papers and eleven books, as well as 15 textbooks and manuals. His current research interests include the microbial ecology of foods, biodiversity of yeasts in agro-ecosystems, yeasts as spoilage agents in foods and the detection and identification of yeasts.József Farkas, D.Sc., is emeritus professor of food science at the Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary, and Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS). He received his Ph.D. and D.Sc. in radiation microbiology in 1968 and 1979, respectively. In 1957, he joined the Central Food Research Institute, Budapest and served there in various research positions until 1986, when he was appointed to the Faculty of Food at Corvinus University of Budapest, where he was professor and department head until his retirement in 2003. Dr. Farkas's research activities have covered a broad areas of food microbiology and chemistry, and have included multiple aspects of non-thermal food preservation methods. From 1980 till 1985, he was Director of the International Facility for Food Irradiation Technology, Wageningen, The Netherlands. He was elected member of the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) for eight years. Presently, he is chairman of the Sub-Committee on Food Safety of the HAS, and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hungarian Food Safety Office.