Primary Predictive Models of Microbial Growth

Foodborne illness occurs when food or beverages are contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, chemicals, or toxins. Understanding microbial physiology and predicting microbial behavior, such as their growth, are fundamental for food safety. The development of microbial growth modeling stemmed from the criticism that food quality control based on the challenge tests of the final products is expensive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming. This chapter aims to develop a practical protocol on how to apply growth models to microbial behavior.