Norma L. Heredia & Irene V. Wesley 
Microbiologically Safe Foods 

This book focuses on state of the art technologies to produce
microbiologically safe foods for our global dinner table.
Each chapter summarizes the most recent scientific advances,
particularly with respect to food processing, pre- and post-harvest
food safety, quality control, and regulatory information.

The book begins with a general discussion of microbial hazards
and their public health ramifications. It then moves on
to survey the production processes of different food types,
including dairy, eggs, beef, poultry, and fruits and vegetables,
pinpointing potential sources of human foodborne diseases. The
authors address the growing market in processed foods as well novel
interventions such as innovative food packaging and technologies to
reduce spoilage organisms and prolong shelf life. Each chapter also
describes the ormal flora of raw product, spoilage issues,
pathogens of concern, sources of contamination, factors that
influence survival and growth of pathogens and spoilage organisms,
indicator microorganisms, approaches to maintaining product quailty
and reducing harmful microbial populations, microbial standards for
end-product testing, conventional microbiological and molecular
methods, and regulatory issues.

Other important topics include the safety of genetically
modified organisms (GMOs), predictive microbiology, emerging
foodborne pathogens, good agricultural and manufacturing processes,
avian influenza, and bioterrorism.

About the author

Norma Heredia, Sc D, is Professor of Food Safety at the
University of Nuevo Leon in Mexico. Her research focus is the
epidemiology and control of microorganisms in foods. She serves the
industry and government as a consultant and in laboratory analysis
of food microbiology. She has served on the editorial boards and as
an ad hoc reviewer for several journals.

Irene Wesley, DPH, is a microbiologist at the National Animal
Disease Center, part of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service,
in Ames, Iowa. Her research focus is the on-farm detection of
microbial foodborne pathogens in livestock and poultry. She is a
member of the American Academy of Microbiology and has served on
national food safety committees and editorial boards.

Santos Garcia, Sc D, is Professor and Consultant of Food Safety
at the University of Nuevo Leon in Mexico. His research focus is
the physiology and control of microbial food-borne pathogens. He
has served on international food safety committees and editorial
boards for several journals. He is a coeditor of Guide to Foodborne
Pathogens (Wiley).