Foodborne pathogens

As trends in foodborne disease continue to rise, the effective identification and control of pathogens becomes ever more important for the food industry. With its distinguished international team of contributors, Foodborne pathogens provides an authoritative and practical guide to effective control measures and how they can be applied in practice to individual pathogens. Part 1 looks at general techniques in assessing and managing bacterial hazards. After a review of analytical methods, there are chapters on modelling pathogen behaviour and carrying out a risk assessment as the essential foundation for effective food safety management. The following chapters then look at good management practice in key stages in the supply chain, starting with farm production. There are chapters on hygienic plant design and sanitation, and safe process design and operation which provide the foundation for a discussion of what makes for effective HACCP systems implementation. There is also a chapter on safe practices for consumers and food handlers in the retail and catering sectors. This discussion of pathogen control then provides a context for Part 2 which looks at what this means in practice for key pathogens such as E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter. Each chapter discusses pathogen characteristics, detection methods and control procedures. Part 3 then looks at non-bacterial hazards such as viruses and parasites, as well as emerging 'hazards' such as Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and the increasingly important area of chronic infections.