The food microbiology modules aim to give you a broad experience of the topic, yet also enable you to keep up to date with recent events. By the very nature of the topic and the media attention on food scares it is plausable that important topics will arise either during the presentation of the module or shortly afterwards, but before the exam or viva! It is therefore advisble to frequently use the Food Microbiology Information Centre to access the hypertext links concerning current issues. If you independently come across a site which would be useful please email it to me at stephen.forsythe@ntu.ac.uk. Module proformas are found at : HLX249 and HLX355
Version 6 and above of 'Pathogen Modeling Program' does not allow you to look at multiple growth parameters. Therefore I'll take about 20 minutes of the lecture period to show you multiple growth using version 5 that I have on my laptop computer.
There are three modules concerning food microbiology being taught in a year. Below are the details I can provide concerning principally my lecture topics and some of Dr Smith's.
| Week number | Time and Lecturer | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-2pm Lecture: Dr G. Manning | General introduction to food microbiology Intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of food Food contamination & spoilage |
| 2 | 1-2pm Lecture: Dr G. Manning | Microbial flora of meat |
| 3 | 1-2pm Lecture: Dr G. Manning | Poultry, fish & shellfish |
| 4 | 1-2pm Lecture: Dr G. Manning | Milk & eggs |
| 5 | 1-2pm Lecture: Dr G. Manning | Preservation techniques Part 1 Canning |
| 6 | 1-2pm Lecture: Dr G. Manning | Preservation techniques Part 2 Pasteurisation |
| 7 | 1-2pm Lecture: Dr S. Forsythe | Food education (pdf file) |
| 8 | 1-2pm Lecture: Dr S. Forsythe | Foodborne illness (inactive) Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli O157(inactive) |
| 9 | 1-2pm Lecture; Dr S. Forsythe | Listeria, spore-forming and toxin-producing pathogens (inactive) |
| 10 | 1-2pm Lecture : Dr Forsythe | Emerging food and water pathogens (pdf file) PHLS RTE guidelines (pdf file) and Microbial specifications |
| 2-5pm Practical: Dr Forsythe | Microbial contamination of food (pdf file) Ready-to-eat foods (pdf file) Formal report | |
| 5:30-9pm Practical : Dr G. Manning | Microbiology of fresh market meat part 1(lab. file) | |
| 11 | 1-2pm Lecture : Dr S. Forsythe | HACCP overview HACCP Powerpoint presentation |
| 2-5pm Practical: Dr S. Forsythe | Identification methods (part of Formal report) | |
| 12 | 1-2pm Lecture : Dr S Forsythe | Revision and Practical results |
| 3-5:30pm Practical : Dr G. Manning | Microbiology of fresh market meat Part 2 |
| Week number | Dr Forsythe | Dr Manning/Dr Carlile |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Overview | Growth parameters |
| 17 | Seminar : Food spoilage | Practical : Food spoilage |
| 18 | Seminar : Dairy products | Practical : Dairy Microbiology (pdf file) |
| 19 | Seminar : Personal hygiene | Practical: Microbial flora of Personnel |
| 20 | Seminar | Practical: collect results |
| 21 | Human flora | Lactic acid bacteria |
| 22 | Microbial ecology of food | Lactic acid bacteria |
| 23 | Foodborne pathogens 1 Foodborne illness(inactive) and Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli O157 (inactive) |
Food spoilage; meat |
| 24 | Foodborne pathogens 2 Listeria, spore-forming and toxin-producing pathogens (inactive) |
Food spoilage; eggs & eggs |
| 25 | Food monitoring | Preservation methods |
| Week number | Dr Forsythe | Dr Manning |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | HACCP HACCP (click to see Powerpoint presentation) HACCP video (Real player required) Microbiological Risk Assessment |
Growth parameters and Pathogen Modeling Program |
| 17 | HACCP | Seminar: Microbial contamination of food Food Microbiology Course support |
| 18 | Practical :Microbial contamination of food | Worksheets for Practical 1 to complete on week 19 |
| 19 | Practical : Pathogen Modelling Program | Practical : Pathogen Modeling Program (pdf file) |
| 20 | Lecture : Outbreak investigation | Lecture : Salmonella |
| 21 | Lecture : Viruses | Lecture : Campylobacter |
| 22 | Lecture : E. coli O157, Listeria | Lecture : St. aureus, B. cereus, Cl. perfringens |
| 23 | Lecture : Sampling plans (EU Vertical Directives & PHLS RTE) | Practical :Methods of Detection |
| 24 | Outbreak investigation | Practical: Collect results |
| 25 | Lecture : Conventional detection methods | Lecture :Molecular detection methods |
| 26 | Bank Holiday | Bank Holiday |
| 27 | Lecture : Emergent foodborne pathogens | Revision |
| Week number | Dr Forsythe | Dr Manning |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Introduction & overview | Microbial ecology of food |
| 17 | Foodborne illness 1 | Growth parameters |
| 18 | Foodborne illness 2 | Meat spoilage |
| 19 | EU Directives & 'PHLS' RTE guidelines | Seafood spoilage |
| 20 | EU Directives & sampling plans Pre-requisites of HACCP |
Practical : Microbial flora of personnel (pdf file) |
| 21 | HACCP | Practical : Microbial survival |
| 22 | HACCP | Practical :Pathogen Modelling Program (pdf file) |
| 23 | Pathogens in milk | Practical: Microbial contamination of raw ingredients (inactive) |
| 24 | Preservation and canning | Practical: Ready-to-eat products |
| 25 | Review of preservation methods | Lecture : Outbreak investigation |
| 26 | Revision | Revision |
I am developing online teaching support material which you can easily access and should be your first port of call for supllementary material. There is also the Food Microbiology Information Centre which is designed more for professional microbiologists and those in regulatory authorities, nevertheless you can access information on product recalls and outbreaks from there.
I also have backup a site at www.food-microbiology.co.uk. The reason for the latter two sites is that it acts as backups if there are any University server problems.
There are a few books available online, but you download it page, by page, by page, by...If you want to try it then click away!
There is a wide variety of food microbiology journals. Although you may not be able to understand many of the articles, I strongly recommend that you photocopy an article from these journals and study their format, such as table and figure presentation and referencing format.
More general microbiology journals include Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Microbiology (formerly Journal of General Microbiology).
There is a wide range of food microbiology books in the Clifton library including 'The Microbiology of Safe Food' which is well worth a good read (!). There are four copies available on 1-week loans and on on counter reference. You should also refer to the Boots library resources in the City site. Material is located at the City site because of the degree course for environmental health students. A very underused resource is the Barbour Index which is a microfiche facility that holds vast amounts of information, even copies of whole books! Both Clifton and Boots libraries have the Barbour Index, except the Boots library also has an additional section on EU legislation. A copy of my other book `Food Hygiene, Microbiology and HACCP’ is on the short loan collection desk so that it should be readily available to you. The book is aimed at industry and so complements the major food microbiology textbooks by Jay (Modern Food Microbiology) and Hobbs&Roberts (Food Poisoning and Food Hygiene). The voluminous book by Mossel et al (Essentials of the Microbiology of Foods. A textbook for advanced studies) contains copious amounts of information, but personally speaking I find it hard to read and the main techniques are not necessarily those accepted widely in the EU. For microbiology techniques a strongly recommended text is `Practical Food Microbiology’ by the PHLS. The ICMSF series of books are produced by worldwide accepted authorities and so , although `reference text’ in nature they should not be overlooked. The `Principles and Practices for the Safe Processing of Foods’ is produced by the Heinz corporation and can be found in the Boots library.
Because of the relatively recent industry requirement for the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) approach to safe food production, this topic will be presented with a greater emphasis than you will find in general food microbiology textbooks. The book 'Food Hygiene, Microbiology and HACCP' is in the library but it is aimed more for industry than undergraduates
I wrote the book 'Microbiological Risk Assessment of Food'. This is a relatively new topic which the World Health Organisation is promoting to improve safe food production worldwide. It will be of increasing importance in the food industry and hence I will be introducing you to the topic.
The variety of food poisoning bacteria documented excedes the time available for the modules. Therefore key organisms will be covered and you should supplement your lecture material with information from the library and the Web sites provided for you HERE.
Topics such as BSE and nvCJD are not yet in the mainstream of food microbiology topics, despite their high profile with the general public. Because of this I have included BSE, etc. Web sites on the homepage for your general background reading.
Myself and Dr Manning have a research interests in food microbiology (rapid detection methods, Salmonella, Campylobacter and the newly emerging pathogens Enterobacter sakazakii and Arcobacter) . Therefore the seminar periods will sometimes be used to demonstrate pieces of equipment (ATP bioluminescence and immunomagnetic separation) which you would not normally have access to in an undergraduate degree course.
Messages can be sent to me via email or voicemail (ext 3529) and I am in the office ED246. I hope you find the modules interesting and do not put you off eating!
General advice for end of module tests and exams:
* It is always good practise to double check the number of questions needing to be answered and the amount of time allowed.
* You may pick up a few (vital) marks just attempting a question you’re uncertain of rather than ignoring it altogether.
* We can only mark what is written down, so write it down.
* With `long’ answers’,i.e. those requiring 45 minutes to answer, it is a good idea to spend 5 minutes writing down keywords and then numbering them into a logical order. This can help to jog your memory and gives you a structure to the answer.
* Again with `long’ answers a general introductory paragraph (3 lines approx.) and concluding paragraph (about 3 lines) can help to convince the examiner you understand the question and know the important points to emphasize.