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In general, food engineers are trained to solve engineering problems in the food industry. More specifically, the food engineer must specify the functional requirements, design, and testing of food products, and finally, the evaluation of products to check for overall efficiency, cost, reliability, and most importantly, safety. Food safety must be considered foremost as the overall engineering problem encountered in the food supply chain, and it must be solved from a food safety engineering perspective. This article will show that the food safety engineering perspective is needed in order to produce high quality food products (minimally processed) that are both safe and secure. This multi-disciplinary approach will involve certain engineering components: (i) predictive microbiology as a tool to evaluate and improve food safety in traditional and new processing technologies, (ii) advanced food contaminants detection methods, (iii) advanced processing technologies, (iv) advanced systems for re-contamination control, (v) advanced systems for active and intelligent packaging.

The antibacterial action of thymol and cymene on two Bacillus cereus strains (INRA-AVTZ415 and INRA-AVZ421) was studied. Thymol and cymene alone showed higher antibacterial effect on the growth of B. cereus in BHI at 30 °C, both in lag and in exponential growth phases, with increasing added concentrations. However, the two strains tested showed different sensitivity to these natural compounds. When thymol and cymene were applied simultaneously, it resulted in a greater antibacterial effect than when the compounds were applied separately. The synergistic behaviour of both compounds was also shown for lag phase B. cereus INRA-AVZ421 cells in food substrates (carrot juice, chicken soup and pumpkin cream) at 30 °C, though a clear food-related effect was observed. This study indicates the potential use of thymol and cymene applied simultaneously for preservation of minimally processed foods.

Different inactivation kinetics data have been used to predict the number of survivors exposed to a heat treatment and, in consequence, to design thermal processes for the food industry. In this work, spores of an acidophilic strain of Bacillus subtilis were heated under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Experimental results obtained after isothermal treatments were analysed using the classical two-step linear regression procedure and a one-step non-linear regression method. Data obtained after non-isothermal treatments were analysed using a one-step, non-linear procedure. Kinetic parameters obtained from isothermal heating were close, either using the two-step linear regression (D 100=6.5 min) or the one-step non-linear regression (D 100=6.3 min), although the second method gave smaller 95% confidence intervals. The z values derived from non-isothermal heating were higher than those obtained in isothermal conditions (z=9.3 °C for non-isothermal heating at 1 °C/min versus z=7.7 °C for isothermal heating one step non-linear regression). Results were validated with experimental data obtained after different heat treatments, consisting of a phase of temperature increase at a fixed rate, followed by a holding phase. Non-isothermal methods predicted accurately the number of survivors after the heating ramp, while isothermal methods were more accurate for the holding phase of the treatment. When a temperature profile of a typical heat treatment process applied in the food industry was simulated, all predictions were on the safe side.

A new microbiological predictive model was developed, relating pH, NaCl concentration and temperature (T) with the decimal reduction coefficient D as dependent variable, using data previously reported by [1]. The model was obtained by multiple linear regression using only three predictor variables (T 2, pH2 and NaCl), easily computed from the basic variables pH, NaCl concentration and temperature (T). The fitted model is robust, stable and satisfies all the basic hypotheses of the regression models. It also provides simplicity when compared with previously published models based on multiple linear regression tools.

The effect of different concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl) in the recovery medium on the apparent thermal resistance of Bacillus stearothermophilus spores (strain ATCC 12980) was studied. Spores were heated at different temperatures (115–125°C) and subcultured in medium with different NaCl concentrations [1, 2, 3 and 3.5% (w/v)]. The results indicate that increasing NaCl levels decreases the apparent heat resistance of the spores, over a temperature range of 115–125°C. No significant difference was found between 3 and 3.5% (w/v) NaCl although both reduced B. stearothermophilus heat resistance considerably. A second-order polynomial equation provided a good description of the spores’ D value, as influenced by the temperature and NaCl concentration. Predictions from the model compared well with published data, and therefore the model is suitable for predicting the effect of NaCl concentration on thermal inactivation of B. stearothermophilus.

The effect of recovering Bacillus stearothermophilus spores under anaerobic conditions on their apparent thermal resistance was studied. Spores were suspended in bidistilled water as a reference medium, heated at 115, 117, 119, 121, 123 and 125°C and recovered under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. D values (decimal reduction time) obtained following recovery under anaerobic conditions were lower than those obtained under aerobic conditions. Reductions of between 31 and 48% were found for all the temperatures studied. When spores were suspended in mushroom extract and recovered under anaerobic conditions the apparent heat resistance was much lower than that obtained under aerobic conditions (D121°C was 4.3 min and 1.7 min, under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively). Heating the spores in mushroom extract and recovering the spores under anaerobic conditions produced an additive effect, decreasing the apparent heat resistance of the B. stearothermophilus spores.

A time temperature integrator (TTI) was developed by immobilizing Bacillus stearothermophilus spores in a cylindrical particle consisting of an alginate-starch-mushroom puree. The particle showed homogeneous spore distribution, and when heated over a temperature range of 121 – 130° C negligible spore leakage was observed after the thermal process. The experimental data on spore survivor levels obtained for each temperature-time combination were compared with theoretical predictions using a mathematical model. The results showed a good correlation between the experimental and theoretical data. All these results provide evidence that this artificial particle could be a very reliable TTI for monitoring the thermal impact on micro-organisms during validating sterilization processes in continuous aseptic systems.