chap 3 Flashcards
Early civilizations practiced what to control microbial
growth.
salting, smoking, pickling, drying, and
exposure of food and clothing to sunlig
Sterilization:
destruction of all forms of microbial life including the most resistant forms (endospores)
Heating is the most common method used in sterilization
A sterilizing agent is called a sterilant
Commercial sterilization:
heat treatment of canned food required to destroy Clostridium botulinum that can produce a deadly toxin (that can cause constipation, muscle weakness, …)
It takes 25 minutes to destroy this bacteria at 100C.
Disinfection:
Control directed at reducing the number of pathogenic microorganisms to a point where they no longer cause diseases.
Usually refers to the removal of vegetative or non-endospore forming pathogens.
Chemicals, Ultraviolet radiation, boiling water, or steam.
Disinfectant: chemical used to treat inanimate objects or surfaces.
Antisepsis:
Disinfection directed at living tissues such as human skin and, especially, wounds.
Antiseptic:
chemical applied to a living tissue
Degerming:
Mechanical removal of most microbes in a limited area. Example: Alcohol swab on skin.
sanitization
Use of chemical agent on food-handling equipment to meet public health standards and minimize chances of disease transmission.
Example: Hot soap & water.
Pasteurization:
Use of heat to destr0y pathogens and to reduce the number of spoilage microorganisms in food and beverages
Biocide or Germicide:
An agent that kills certain microorganisms.
•Bactericide
An agent that kills bacteria (most do not kill endospores)
•Viricide:
An agent that inactivates viruses.
•Fungicide:
An agent that kills fungi.
•Sporicide:
An agent that kills bacterial endospores or fungal spores
Bacteriostatic Agent:
An agent that inhibits the growth of bacteria, but does not necessarily kill them.
Sepsis:
Comes from Greek for decay or putrid. Indicates bacterial contamination.
Aseptic techniques:
Used to prevent contamination of surgical instruments, medical personnel, and the patient during surgery.
Also used to prevent bacterial contamination in food industry.
Aseptic:
absence of pathogenic microbes
Factors Influencing Microbial Death
Several factors influence the effectiveness of antimicrobial treatment:
- Number of Microbes: The more microbes present, the more time it takes to eliminate population.
- Type of Microbes: Endospores are very difficult to destroy. Vegetative pathogens vary widely in susceptibility to different methods of microbial control.
- Environmental influences:Presence of organic material (blood, feces, saliva) tends to inhibit antimicrobials, pH etc.
- Time of Exposure:Chemical antimicrobials and radiation treatments are more effective at longer times. In heat treatments, longer exposure compensates for lower temperatures.
- Microbial characteristics: resistance genes, protective structures(e.g.capsules) caninhibitaction, bioflimsprevent penetration
heat (physical characteristics)
Kills microorganisms by denaturing their enzymes and other proteins. Heat resistance varies widely among microbes.
-Thermal Death Point (TDP):
Lowest temperature at which all of the microbes in a liquid suspension will be killed in ten minutes.