Chapter 6: Food Microbiology and Public Health

It is well established that foods can be the cause of illness in a number of ways: a simple insufficiency can lead to a number of deficiency conditions and predispose to other illnesses, foods may contain endogenous toxicants or those associated with contaminants, and they may act as a vehicle for pathogenic organisms such as bacteria or viruses. The difficult task of assessing the importance and the impact of foodborne illness on human lives is carried out by a number of national and international bodies which have demonstrated it to be an important source of morbidity and mortality in the lives of millions. The different types of foods associated with the main pathogens of concern, together with factors contributing to foodborne disease outbreaks and their settings, are outlined. Focusing on foodborne illness in the individual, the anatomy and function of the alimentary tract, by which foods are ingested, digested and pass through the body, are described, and general features of the pathogenesis of diarrhoeal disease are introduced.