Preface to the Fourth Edition

It is now 20 years since this book was first published and the third occasion on which we have decided that it would benefit from refreshing in the form of a new edition. To do this the authorship team has been expanded to include Peter J. McClure and it is a pleasure to welcome him and acknowledge his substantial contribution. We could always have opted for an edited, multi-authored work, which would have saved us the labour of generating our own tortured prose, albeit at the cost of having to edit that of others. Such approaches do have their place but would not fit the ethos of the original project which was, and remains, to provide an accessible, comprehensive text with a uniform approach to all aspects of the subject. In this edition we have again taken the opportunity to improve the quality of existing Figures, introduce some new ones, and to update the text throughout, taking account of recent developments, increased knowledge and legislative changes. In particular the sections on molecular techniques and microbiological risk analysis have been extensively revised but there are numerous additions and tweakings elsewhere. As a consequence, the book has again increased in length. Each edition has proved heavier than the last although we hope it still remains manageable without recourse to mechanical aids. Our apologies to those for whom this is not the case, let’s hope an electronic version will become available in the future.

In this third edition we have taken the opportunity to update and clarify the text in a number of places, removing a few incipient cobwebs along the way. Mostly this has entailed small changes within the existing text though there are new sections dealing with natamycin, subtyping, emerging pathogens and Enterobacter sakazakii.

In addition to all those colleagues who have helped with previous editions we are pleased to acknowledge Janet Corry and Marcel Zwietering whose diligent reading of the second edition revealed the need for some corrections that had previously eluded us. We have also rationalised the index which we decided was excessive and contained too many esoteric or trivial entries. As a consequence, terms such as ‘‘trub’’ have been deleted. Those seeking knowledge on this topic will now have to read the book in its entirety.

The very positive response Food Microbiology has had since it was first published has been extremely gratifying. It has reconfirmed our belief in the value of the original project and has also helped motivate us to produce this second edition. We have taken the opportunity to correct minor errors, improve some of the diagrams and update the text to incorporate new knowledge, recent developments and legislative changes. Much of this has meant numerous small changes and additions spread throughout the book, though perhaps we should point out (for the benefit of reviewers) new sections on stress response, Mycobacterium spp. and risk analysis, and updated discussions of predictive microbiology, the pathogenesis of some foodborne illnesses, BSE/vCJD and HACCP.

A number of colleagues have provided advice and information and among these we are particularly indebted to Mike Carter, Paul Cook, Chris Little, Johnjoe McFadden, Bob Mitchell, Yasmine Motarjemi and Simon Park. It is customary for authors to absolve those acknowledged from all responsibility for any errors in the final book. We are happy to follow that convention in the unspoken belief that if any errors have crept through we can always blame each other.

In writing this book we have tried to present an account of modern food microbiology that is both thorough and accessible. Since our subject is broad, covering a diversity of topics from viruses to helminths (by way of the bacteria) and from pathogenicity to physical chemistry, this can make presentation of a coherent treatment difficult; but it is also part of what makes food microbiology such an interesting and challenging subject.

The book is directed primarily at students of Microbiology, Food Science and related subjects up to Master’s level and assumes some knowledge of basic microbiology. We have chosen not to burden the text with references to the primary literature in order to preserve what we hope is a reasonable narrative flow. Some suggestions for further reading for each chapter are included in Chapter 12. These are largely review articles and monographs which develop the overview provided and can also give access to the primary literature if required. We have included references that we consider are among the most current or best (not necessarily the same thing) at the time of writing, but have also taken the liberty of including some of the older, classic texts which we feel are well worth revisiting on occasion. By the very nature of current scientific publishing, many of our most recent references may soon become dated themselves. There is a steady stream of research publications and reviews appearing in journals such as Food Microbiology, Food Technology, the International Journal of Food Microbiology, the Journal of Applied Bacteriology and the Journal of Food Protection and we recommend that these sources are regularly surveyed to supplement the material provided here.

We are indebted to our numerous colleagues in food microbiology from whose writings and conversation we have learned so much over the years. In particular we would like to acknowledge Peter Bean for looking through the section on heat processing, Ann Dale and Janet Cole for their help with the figures and tables and, finally, our long suffering families of whom we hope to see more in the future.