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Scientific Program

2nd International Conference on Food Microbiology, will be organized around the theme “Accelerating Research and Innovation in Food Microbiology”

Food Microbiology 2017 is comprised of 10 tracks and 95 sessions designed to offer comprehensive sessions that address current issues in Food Microbiology 2017.

Submit your abstract to any of the mentioned tracks. All related abstracts are accepted.

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Track 1: Food Microbiology

International trade is rapidly growing. Raw foods and prepared foods are distributing internationally. Some food industries have been seeking international cooperation and have different plants all over the world and that would increase the distribution of local foods. Importance of microbiology of these foods will be increasing. To avoid importing  foodborne pathogens or to avoid exporting foods containing pathogen, more intensive monitor of foodborne pathogens is required. Microbial quality control of the central kitchens of the chain system is becoming very important. Foodborne diseases may increase in the coming years as a consequence of increased globalization of our food supply. To minimize the risk of pathogens we have to determine the risk of pathogens in different food under different condition. The advancement of modern biotechnology has great impacts on the food industry. Food industry is giving first priority to ensure a wholesome food supply that is free of pathogen and toxin. Quick detection methods are developed for various toxins and pathogens based mainly on the immunoassay and molecular methods. Rapid and sensitive detection methods based on the development of DNA probes and polyclonal antibodies and monoclonal antibodies have begun to replace classical microbial techniques for detection of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Kits are also available for detection of foodborne pathogens and toxins. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) will dramatically increase the sensitivity of DNA probe-based assay systems. Biosensors are developed for preventing the threat of bioterrorism and emerging foodborne diseases. New technologies are being developed, that include controlled atmosphere in the packaging of meats or other foods, asceptic packaging, extrusion, ultrafiltration, etc. New technologies lead to the generation of novo food products, and new microbiological problems. Food may be a source of risk to human by accidental (food safety) or an intentional (food defense) contamination. Accidental food contaminations are associated with innate pathogenic microorganisms and their natural proliferation pathways. Intentional contamination, on the other hand, is associated with a selected group of unfamiliar agents that have high mortality rates. While both have the potential to inflict harm and cause significant economic losses. A terrorist attack against the food supply chain would target access point that would render the greatest impact—the goal being to cause high morbidity and mortality, widespread economic disruption, and fear.
  • Track 1-1International trade
  • Track 1-2Development of new technology
  • Track 1-3Food supply against food terrorism event
  • Track 1-4Green movement
  • Track 1-5Development of new ingredients
  • Track 1-6Food microbiology education

Track 2: Microbiology of Fermented Foods and Beverages

Fermented food and beverage play an important role in the diet of people in many parts of the world. Fermented food provide important sources of nutrient and have great potential in maintaining health and preventing diseases. These harbour diverse microorganism from the environment, which include molds, yeast and bacteria, mostly lactic acid bacteria, bacilli and micrococci. There are many different types of fermented foods and beverages  produced in world wide. These include cereal-based fermented food, fermented milks,  and non-alcoholic beverage, fermented fruits and vegetables, and fermented meat. Beside the beneficial microorganisms some spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms are also present. Spoilage microorganisms spoil the food and are not harmful to humans. Pathogenic microorganisms are disease-causing microorganisms. The living microorganism or a toxin (microbial waste product) must be consumed to cause symptoms associated with specific pathogenic microorganisms.
  • Track 2-1Microbiology of vegetable fermentations
  • Track 2-2Microbiology of bread making
  • Track 2-3Microbiology of alcoholic beverages
  • Track 2-4Microbiology of starter Lactic Acid Bacteria
  • Track 2-5Microbial defects and quality problems
  • Track 2-6Thickeners of microbial origin
  • Track 2-7Production of industrial enzymes and some applications in fermented foods
  • Track 2-8Potential infective and toxic microbiological hazards associated with the consumption of fermented foods
  • Track 2-9Impact of genetically engineered microorganism on food and beverage

Track 3:Food Borne Pathogens, Diseases & Public Health

The epidemiology of foodborne infection is changing. New pathogens have emerged, and some have spread worldwide. Many bacteria including Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, and Yersinia enterocolitica, have reservoirs in healthy food animals, from which they are spreadind to an increased variety of foods. These pathogens cause millions of cases of sporadic illness and chronic complication, as well as large and challenging outbreaks over many states and nations. Improved surveillance that combines rapid subtyping method, cluster identification, and collaborative epidemiologic investigation can identify large, dispersed outbreaks. Outbreak investigations and case-control studies of sporadic cases can identify infection sources and guide the development of specific prevention strategies. Better understanding of how pathogens are persisting in animal reservoirs is also critical to successful long-term prevention. Prevention of foodborne disease will increasingly depend on contamination control of feed and water consumed by the animals themselves.

  • Track 3-1Agroterrorism
  • Track 3-2Emerging foodborne pathogens
  • Track 3-3Emergence of drug and antimicrobial resistance
  • Track 3-4New food vehicles of transmission
  • Track 3-5Methods and technology for rapid and accurate detection
  • Track 3-6New approaches to the prevention of foodborne disease
  • Track 3-7Safety of organically grown and genetically modified foods
  • Track 3-8Novel strategies for the prevention and control of plant and animal diseases that impact food safety
  • Track 3-9Biosecurity issues and the implications of new regulatory guidelines
  • Track 3-10Impact of changing lifestyles and consumer demands on food safety
  • Track 3-11Implications of the new outbreak scenario for public health activities

Track 4:Risk Assessment and Risk Management

The microbial safety of food has been advanced substantially by the introduction and implementation of the hazard analysis of critical control point (HACCP) concept. It provides a systematic conceptual framework for identifying hazards and focusing on the proper functioning of key food production, processing and marketing steps.The complexity of the pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest environments make it impossible to control all potential source of microbial contamination. Efforts at control and prevention are implemented throughout the food production and processing system. Researchers are searching for a better understanding of the pathogen and their interaction with the environment, leading to improved control methods. But at the same time, the pathogens continue to evolve, and human actions drive that evolution. Even small environmental change can have unforeseen or even unforeseeable impact on microbiological populations. Improved understanding of these complex factor provides insight into pathogen evolution and opens the door to improved prevention and control methods.

  • Track 4-1Establishing a risk assessment policy
  • Track 4-2Types of risk assessment and risk assessment tools
  • Track 4-3Risk management using food safety objectives
  • Track 4-4Hazard control and monitoring
  • Track 4-5HACCP
  • Track 4-6Microbiological criteria and testing
  • Track 4-7Surveillance for foodborne hazards and illness
  • Track 4-8Outbreak investigations and new foodborne pathogens
  • Track 4-9Current surveillance programs
  • Track 4-10Alternative processing technologies and novel foods
  • Track 4-11Approaches to deal with risks and challenges

Track 5:Microbiology and Biotechnological Exploitation

The roles of microorganisms in agriculture, food industry and public health have been the point of interest since long time for their exploitation. Although only a fraction of microbial diversity was accessed by microbiologists earlier for harnessing them owing to limited techniques. The molecular techniques have opened new vistas to access the wide field of the unexplored microorganisms and their exploitation for useful genes and novel metabolites. Sincere efforts have been made in biotechnology using microorganisms leading to improve our life with respect to agriculture and people health. The biotechnological developments using microorganisms potential have enabled us combat the environment and human health problems worldwide in ecofriendly.
  • Track 5-1Use of microorganisms for the production of natural molecules for use in food
  • Track 5-2Microbial production of food flavours
  • Track 5-3Microbial production of flavonoids, carotenoids and terpenoids
  • Track 5-4Microbial production of enzymes used in food applications
  • Track 5-5Microbial production of organic acids and amino acids for use in food
  • Track 5-6Production of viable probiotic cells
  • Track 5-7Microbial production of bacteriocins for use in food
  • Track 5-8Production of microbial polysaccharides for use in food
  • Track 5-9Microalgae as sources of food ingredients

Track 6:Uses of Microorganisms in Food

Food may be contaminated from outside sources on the way from the field to the processing plant, or during transport, storage and distribution. There are thousands of different types of micro-organisms everywhere in air, water,soil and foods, and in the digestive tract of animals and human. Fortunately, the majority of microbes usefully functions in the environment and in some branches of of food industry, such as production of wine, beer, dairy products , bakery products, etc. On the other hand unwanted food spoilage is generally caused by microbes and contamination of food with pathogens causes food safety problems.The micro-organisms occurring on and in foods are divided into three groups: bacteria, yeast and molds. Molds are generally concerned in the food spoilage; their use in the food industry is limited.Yeasts are the most widely used microbes in the food industry due to their ability to ferment sugars to ethanol and carbon-dioxide. Some types of yeast, like baker’s yeasts are grown industrially, and some may be used as protein sources, mainly in animal feed. Bacteria are important in food microbiology may be divided into groups according to the fermentation product, e.g. lactic acid bacteria, propionic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria. Bearing in mind the food constituent attacked, prolytic, saccharolytic and lipolytic bacteria may be distinguished.
  • Track 6-1Bacteria
  • Track 6-2Yeast
  • Track 6-3Molds
  • Track 6-4Fungi
  • Track 6-5Citric acid production by fungi
  • Track 6-6Production of enzymes
  • Track 6-7Production of vinegar
  • Track 6-8Lactic Acid Bacteria

Track 7:Food Mycology

Fungi may be used as the food or the food edible followed by processing. Processing may make it possible to consume the food stuff by modifying, adding or removing components, including flavours, nutritional elements to enhance the appeal of food. These are the contributor to the processing of food. Their use dates back to the start of civilisation, when breads and wines were first made deliberately. These days, the selection and use of fungi is a highly organised field of research and development in food industry.  Fungi can also present health risks by the production of specific toxic agent called mycotoxin, which are often poorly understood, but are being increasingly recognised as agents of both acute and chronic toxicity in humans and animals. In the research area of Food Mycology, the physiology and molecular biology of filamentous fungi play a role as spoilage or toxin-producing organisms are investigated. The research focuses on the elucidation of the regulatory mechanism for mycotoxin biosynthesis at both molecular and physiological level. The emphasis of these investigation is on the influences of environmental conditions which lead to mycotoxin synthesis in the plant food product. This approach aims to develop new procedures which prevent mycotoxin production in such foods. 
  • Track 7-1Modelling fungal growth
  • Track 7-2Ecology of spoilage moulds and hurdle technology
  • Track 7-3Analysis and rapid diagnostics – traditional vs modern approaches
  • Track 7-4Beverage and yeast spoilage
  • Track 7-5Heath resistant fungal spores and problems in beverages
  • Track 7-6Mycotoxins: Their importance in different food chains
  • Track 7-7Mycotoxins: Regulations and sampling issues
  • Track 7-8Modified atmosphere packaging to control spoilage moulds
  • Track 7-9Factory environment – Mould problems
  • Track 7-10Spoilage and mycotoxins in cured meats
  • Track 7-11Climate change impacts on moulds/mycotoxins

Track 8:Predictive Microbiology

Predictive microbiology is the quantitative science that enables users to evaluate objectively the effect of processing, distribution and storage operation on the microbial safety and quality of foods. Food microbiology has adopted novel concepts and modern methods with some reluctance. Many food microbiologists follow the “old fashioned” approach of enumerating microorganisms at different stages of food storage, identifying the major fractions of the microflora by their phenotypic characters, and building up an understanding of the shelf-life and safety of foods. However fascinating this is to the food microbiologist, it is expensive and slow, and has not led to a cumulative, structured database of information that can be interrogated quickly. Study of the effects on microbial growth of single controlling factors such as pH, temperature or water activity, resulted in acceptance that particular microbes of concern would not grow below certain pH, or below a certain temperatures or water activity. All foods contain water; have a temperature of storage and a pH value. If the growth response determined by those controlling factors could be measured, then modelled, the result would indicate the growth rate attributed to those three factors. If the differences between the calculated and observed responses were significant, then other factors would have to be taken into account. Comparisons of growth rates published in the scientific literatures with predictions from such relatively simple models for the same conditions of temperature, pH and water activity were often very close and encouraged further efforts. Gradually, using models that had been validated by comparing outputs with independent data became recognized. Occasionally it is important to have an accurate estimate of the growth or survival, but more often it is sufficient to have a reasonable estimate, but quickly. It is necessary to obtain good and quick estimations of the shelflife of foods, in which pathogenic bacteria might grow, in new product development and in risk assessment.

  • Track 8-1Predictive models: Foundation, types and development
  • Track 8-2Microbial dynamics
  • Track 8-3Growth matrix: Food versus artificial medium
  • Track 8-4Gamma concept and the Cardinal Parameter Model (CPM)
  • Track 8-5Predictive modelling at dynamic conditions
  • Track 8-6Development and validation of predictive models
  • Track 8-7Implications of the error term and variable transformations
  • Track 8-8Model validation
  • Track 8-9Microbiological modelling programs
  • Track 8-10Application of predictive models in quantitative risk assessment and risk management
  • Track 8-11Tools for improving food safety and quality

Track 9:Microbial Aspects of Food Spoilage and Quality

During handling, harvesting and processing operations food may become contaminated with a wide range of microorganisms. Subsequently, during storage and distribution only a small fraction of these will develop and cause serious deterioration. Which microbes will develop or what biochemical reactions occur is dependent upon food derived or environmental factors. Spoilage of food may be caused by a wide range of reactions including some that are mainly physical or chemical, others due to action of enzymes or microbes. The primary factors associated with food spoilage are associated with intrinsic properties of food which include endogenous enzymes, substrates, sensitivity for light, oxygen and cross contamination during slaughter,harvesting and processing in combination with temperature abuse. For fresh foods the primary quality changes may be categorized as (i) bacterial growth and metabolism resulting in possible pH-changes and formation of toxic compounds, gas, slime-formation and off-odors, (ii) oxidation of lipids and pigments in fat-containing foods resulting in undesirable flavors, formation of compounds with adverse biological effects or discoloration. Although interrelated with the microbiological spoilage, the last category is purely chemical in nature and will, all other things being equal increase in importance with decreasing temperature. Little is known about the relationship between microbial activity and biochemical spoilage parameter under different packaging and storage conditions. Although there is much progress in the characterization of the total micro flora and metabolites developing during spoilage, not much is known about the identification of specific microbes in relation to food composition.
  • Track 9-1Spoilage and HACCP
  • Track 9-2Quantitative detection and indentification methods for microbial spoilage
  • Track 9-3Detection, indentification and enumeration methods for spoilage yeasts
  • Track 9-4Detection, indentification and enumeration methods for spoilage molds
  • Track 9-5Modelling microbial food spoilage
  • Track 9-6Determining the stability and self-life of foods
  • Track 9-7Managing microbial food spoilage
  • Track 9-8Conditions for microbial growth and enzyme action
  • Track 9-9Food product integrity and spoilage testing

Track 10: Current & Future Aspects of Probiotics

The interest in establishing scientific credibility for probiotic effects is of high importance to companies and scientists. Research to support health will have to take into account the intestinal microbiota and its interaction with the host. One of the reasons that raised skepticism in the field is the vast array of health benefits attributed to Lactic acid bacteria strains especially and the variety or diversity of experimental approaches. The recently developed molecular techniques will certainly help in acquiring a better understanding of the complex interaction between the gut ecosystem and the probiotic strain. A multidisciplinary approach, combining molecular taxonomy and biology,  immunology, modern microbial ecology, physiology, gastroenterology and biochemistry, will be necessary to gain knowledge in the crosstalk that most certainly takes place between the the host cells and intestinal microbes. While unraveling of the mechanism of action may greatly facilitate future selection of novel probiotic strains with a specific health benefit, any postulated effects will have to be definitely proven by well-conducted clinical studies. This might be easier to achieve when targeting the improvement of pathological situations.
  • Track 10-1Functional aspects of probiotics and the impact on human health
  • Track 10-2Lactobacilli as probiotics: Discovering new functional aspects and target sites
  • Track 10-3Bifidobacteria: Regulators of intestinal homeostasis
  • Track 10-4Propionibacteria have probiotic potential
  • Track 10-5Non-LAB probiotics: Spore formers
  • Track 10-6Mechanisms of action of probiotic yeasts
  • Track 10-7The indigenous microbiota and its potential to exhibit probiotic properties
  • Track 10-8Metagenomics as a tool for discovery of new probiotics and prebiotics
  • Track 10-9Emerging applications of established prebiotics
  • Track 10-10Applications of probiotics and prebiotics in infant development