6
Modern Food Microbiology
1908—Sodium benzoate was given official sanction by the United States as a preservative in certain
foods.
1916—The quick freezing of foods was achieved in Germany by R. Plank, E. Ehrenbaum, and K.
Reuter.
1917—Clarence Birdseye in the United States began work on the freezing of foods for the retail trade.
—Franks was issued a patent for preserving fruits and vegetables under CO 2 .
1920—Bigelow and Esty published the first systematic study of spore heat resistance above 212
◦ F.
The “general method” for calculating thermal processes was published by Bigelow, Bohart,
Richardson, and Ball; the method was simplified by C.O. Ball in 1923.
1922—Esty and Meyer established z = 18
◦ F for Clostridium botulinum spores in phosphate buffer.
1928—The first commercial use of controlled-atmosphere storage of apples was made in Europe (first
used in New York in 1940).
1929—A patent issued in France proposed the use of high-energy radiation for the processing of foods.
—Birdseye frozen foods were placed in retail markets.
1943—B.E. Proctor in the United States was the first to employ the use of ionizing radiation to preserve
hamburger meat.
1950—The D value concept came into general use.
1954—The antibiotic nisin was patented in England for use in certain processed cheeses to control
clostridial defects,
1955—Sorbic acid was approved for use as a food preservative.
—The antibiotic chlortetracycline was approved for use in fresh poultry (oxytetracycline followed
a year later). Approval was rescinded in 1966.
1967—The first commercial facility designed to irradiate foods was planned and designed in the
United States. The second became operational in 1992 in Florida.
1988—Nisin was accorded GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status in the United States.
1990—Irradiation of poultry was approved in the United States.
1997—The irradiation of fresh beef up to a maximum level of 4.5 kGy and frozen beef up to 7.0 kGy
was approved in the United States.
1997—Ozone was declared GRAS by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for food use.
Food Spoilage
1659—Kircher demonstrated the occurrence of bacteria in milk; Bondeau did the same in 1847.
1680—Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe yeast cells.
1780—Scheele identified lactic acid as the principal acid in sour milk.
1836—Latour discovered the existence of yeasts.
1839—Kircher examined slimy beet juice and found organisms that formed slime when grown in
sucrose solutions.
1857—Pasteur showed that the souring of milk was caused by the growth of organisms in it.
1866—L. Pasteur’s ´
Etude sur le Vin was published.
1867—Martin advanced the theory that cheese ripening was similar to alcoholic, lactic, and butyric,
fermentations.
1873—The first reported study on the microbial deterioration of eggs was carried out by Gayon.
—Lister was first to isolate Lactococcus lactis in pure culture.
1876—Tyndall observed that bacteria in decomposing substances were always traceable to air, substances, or containers.
Modern Food Microbiology
1908—Sodium benzoate was given official sanction by the United States as a preservative in certain
foods.
1916—The quick freezing of foods was achieved in Germany by R. Plank, E. Ehrenbaum, and K.
Reuter.
1917—Clarence Birdseye in the United States began work on the freezing of foods for the retail trade.
—Franks was issued a patent for preserving fruits and vegetables under CO 2 .
1920—Bigelow and Esty published the first systematic study of spore heat resistance above 212
◦ F.
The “general method” for calculating thermal processes was published by Bigelow, Bohart,
Richardson, and Ball; the method was simplified by C.O. Ball in 1923.
1922—Esty and Meyer established z = 18
◦ F for Clostridium botulinum spores in phosphate buffer.
1928—The first commercial use of controlled-atmosphere storage of apples was made in Europe (first
used in New York in 1940).
1929—A patent issued in France proposed the use of high-energy radiation for the processing of foods.
—Birdseye frozen foods were placed in retail markets.
1943—B.E. Proctor in the United States was the first to employ the use of ionizing radiation to preserve
hamburger meat.
1950—The D value concept came into general use.
1954—The antibiotic nisin was patented in England for use in certain processed cheeses to control
clostridial defects,
1955—Sorbic acid was approved for use as a food preservative.
—The antibiotic chlortetracycline was approved for use in fresh poultry (oxytetracycline followed
a year later). Approval was rescinded in 1966.
1967—The first commercial facility designed to irradiate foods was planned and designed in the
United States. The second became operational in 1992 in Florida.
1988—Nisin was accorded GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status in the United States.
1990—Irradiation of poultry was approved in the United States.
1997—The irradiation of fresh beef up to a maximum level of 4.5 kGy and frozen beef up to 7.0 kGy
was approved in the United States.
1997—Ozone was declared GRAS by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for food use.
Food Spoilage
1659—Kircher demonstrated the occurrence of bacteria in milk; Bondeau did the same in 1847.
1680—Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe yeast cells.
1780—Scheele identified lactic acid as the principal acid in sour milk.
1836—Latour discovered the existence of yeasts.
1839—Kircher examined slimy beet juice and found organisms that formed slime when grown in
sucrose solutions.
1857—Pasteur showed that the souring of milk was caused by the growth of organisms in it.
1866—L. Pasteur’s ´
Etude sur le Vin was published.
1867—Martin advanced the theory that cheese ripening was similar to alcoholic, lactic, and butyric,
fermentations.
1873—The first reported study on the microbial deterioration of eggs was carried out by Gayon.
—Lister was first to isolate Lactococcus lactis in pure culture.
1876—Tyndall observed that bacteria in decomposing substances were always traceable to air, substances, or containers.