Important bacteria in foods

Acinetobacter
• Acinetobacter is a genus of Gram-negative
bacteria.
• Acinetobacter species are non-motile and
oxidase-negative, and occur in pairs .
• They are strict aerobes that do not reduce
nitrates.
• They are important soil and water organisms and
are also found on many foods especially
refrigerated fresh products.
• A. baumannii is a frequent cause of nosocomial
pneumonia, especially of late onset ventilator
associated pneumonia.
• It can cause various other infections including
skin and wound infections, bacteremia, and
 Bacillus cereus
• B. cereus is a thick long rod shaped Gram positive,
catalase positive aerobic spore former and the
organism is important in food borne illness.
• It is a normal inhabitant of soil and is isolated from a
variety of foods.
• It is quite often a cause of diarrheal illness due to the
consumption of desserts, meat, dishes, dairy
products, rice, pasta etc that are cooked and kept at
room temperature as it is thermoduric.
• Some of the B. cereus strains are psychrotrophic as
they grow at refrigeration temperature.
• B. cereus is spread from soil and grass to cows
udders and into the raw milk.
• It is also capable of establishing in cans. It is also
capable of producing proteolytic and amyloltic
enzymes and also phoslipase C (lecithinase).
•The production of these enzymes by
these organisms can lead to the
spoilage of foods.
•The diarrheal illness is caused by an
enterotoxin produced during the
vegetative growth of B. cereus in small
intestine.
•The bacterium has a maximum growth
temperature around 48°C to 50°C and
pH range 4.9 to 9.3. Like other spores
of mesophilic Bacillus species, spores of
B. cereus are also resistant to heat and
survive pasteurization temperature.
 Bacillus subtilis

• Bacillus subtilis , known also as the hay bacillus or

grass bacillus , is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive
bacterium commonly found in soil.
• A member of the genus Bacillus, B. subtilis is thin
short rod-shaped, and has the ability to form a tough,
protective endospore, allowing the organism to
tolerate extreme environmental conditions.
• B. subtilis produces the proteolytic enzyme subtilisin.
• B. subtilis spores can survive the extreme heat
during cooking. B. subtilis is responsible for causing
ropiness a sticky, stringy consistency caused by
bacterial production of long-chain polysaccharides in
spoiled bread dough.
• A strain of B. subtilis formerly
known as Bacillus natto is used
in the commercial production of
the Japanese food natto, as well
as the similar Korean food
cheonggukjang.
•It is used to produce amylase
and also used to produce
hyaluronic acid, which is useful
in the joint-care sector in
healthcare.
 Carnobacterium
• Carnobacterium is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria within
the family Leuconostocaceae.
• C. divergens and C. maltaromaticum are found in the wild
and in food products and can grow anaerobically.
• These species are not known to be pathogenic in humans
but may cause disease in fish.
• They are tolerant to freezing/thawing and high pressure and
able to grow at low temperatures, anaerobically.
• They metabolize arginine and various carbohydrates,
including chitin, and this may improve their survival in the
environment.
• Several carnobacterial bacteriocins have been identified and
described. Carnobacteria can spoil chilled foods, but
spoilage activity shows intraspecies and interspecies
variation.
• Their production of tyramine in foods is critical for
susceptible individuals, but carnobacteria are not otherwise
human pathogens.
 Corynebacterium
• Corynebacterium is a genus of Gram-positive rod-shaped
bacteria.
• They are widely distributed in nature and are mostly
innocuous. Some are useful in industrial settings such as C.
glutamicum. Others can cause human disease.
• C. diphtheriae, for example, is the pathogen responsible for
diphtheria.
• Some species are known for their pathogenic effects in
humans and other animals. Perhaps the most notable one is
C. diphtheriae, which acquires the capacity to produce
diphtheria toxin only after interacting with a bacteriophage.
• Diphtheria toxin is a single, 60,000 molecular weight protein
composed of two peptide chains, fragment A and fragment
B, held together by a disulfide bond.
 Clostridium perfringens

• C. perfringens is a Gram-positive encapsulated

anaerobic non-motile bacterium commonly found on
meat and meat products.
• It has the ability to cause food borne disease. It is a
toxin producing organism-produces C. perfringens
enterotoxin and β -toxin that are active on the
human GI tract.
• It multiplies very rapidly in food (doubling time < 10
min).
• Spores are resistant to radiation, desiccation and
heat and thus survive in incompletely or
inadequately cooked foods.
• However, it tolerates moderate
exposure to air.
• Vegetative cells of C. perfringens
are also somewhat heat tolerant
as they have relatively high
growth temperature (43°C -45
°C ) and can often grow at 50°C.
• They are not tolerant to
refrigeration and freezing. No
growth occurs at 6 °C . C.
perfringens is present in soil and
the other natural environment.
 Clostridium botulinum

• C. botulinum produces the most potent toxin known.

• It is a Gram-positive anaerobic rod shaped bacterium.
Oval endospores are formed in stationary phase
cultures.
• There are seven types of C. botulinum (A to G) based
on the serological specificity of the neurotoxin
produced.
• Botulism is a rare but very serious disease.
• The ingestion of neurotoxin produced by the
organism in foods can lead to death.
• However, the toxin (a protein) is easily inactivated by
heat.
• The organism can grow at temperature ranging from
10-48 °C with optimum growth temperature at 37°C.
• Spores are highly heat resistant. The
outgrowth of spores is inhibited at pH <
4.6, NaCl> 10% or water activity< 0.94.
• Botulinum spores are probably the
most radiation resistant spores of
public health concern.
• Contamination of foods is through soil
and sediments where they are
commonly present.
• The organism grows under obligate
anaerobic conditions and produces
toxin in under processed (improper
canning) low acid foods at ambient
temperature.
 Campylobacter

• Gram negative nonspore forming rods.

• Campyloleacter jejuni is an important food borne
pathogen. It is one of the many species within the
genus Campylobacter.
• Campylobacter species C. jejuni and C. coli cause
diarrhea in humans.
• The organism is heat sensitive (destroyed by milk
pasteurization temperature). It is also sensitive to
freezing.
• The organisms are curved, S-shaped, or spiral rods
that may form spherical or coccoids forms in old
cultures or cultures exposed to air for prolonged
periods.
• Most of the species are
microaerophilic. It is oxidase
and catalase positive and does
not grow in the presence of
3.5% NaCl or at 25 °C or below.
• The incidence reported for
gastro enteritis by this
organism are as high as in case
of Salmonella.
• The organism is commonly
present in raw milk, poultry
products, fresh meats, pork
sausages and ground beef. The
infective dose of C.jejuni may
be <1,000 organisms.
Enterococcus (E. faecium, E.
faecalis )
• Enterococcus is a genus of lactic acid bacteria.
• Enterococci are Gram positive cocci that often occur
in pairs (diplococci) or short chains and are difficult
to distinguish from streptococci on physical
characters mentioned above.
• The two species are commensal organisms in the
intestine of humans.
• The Enterococci are facultative anaerobic organisms
non spore forming that grows optimally at 35°C .
• However, they tolerate wide range of environmental
conditions (10-45°C) pH (4.5 to 10.5) quite high NaCl
concentration (.6.5%) and can survive heating at
60°C for 30 min.
• The resistance of
enterococci to
pasteurization
temperatures and their
adaptability to different
substrates and growth
conditions in food products
manufactured from raw
materials and in heat
treated food products is of
great significance.
• Enterococci may constitute
an important part of the
microflora of fermented
cheese and meats.
 Escherichia coli

• E. coli strains are associated with food borne gastroenteritis.

• These are Gram-negative asprogeneous rods that ferment
lactose and produce dark colonies with a metallic sheen on
Endo agar.
• The organism grows well on a large number of media and in
many foods. They grow over a wide range of temperature (4
to 46 °C ) and pH (4.4 to 9.0).
• However, they grow very slowly in foods held at refrigerator
temp. (5 °C ).
• They belong to the family Enterobacteriaceae.
• The organism is also an indicator of fecal pollution. The
organism is also capable of producing acid and gas and off-
flavours in foods.
•E. coli strains involved in
foodborne-illness can be placed
into five groups: enteropathogenic
(EPEC), enterotoxigenic (ETEC),
enteroinvasive (EIEC),
enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) and
facultatively enteropathogenic
(FEEC).
•The organism also grows in the
presence of bile salts.
•The primary habitat of E.coli is the
intestinal tract of most warm
blooded animals. E.coli 0157: H7
strains are unusually tolerant of
 Lactococcus
• L.lactis subsp. lactis , L.lactis subsp. Cremoris, L.lactis subsp.lactis biovar
diaectylactis

• Lactococcus is a genus of lactic acid bacteria .They are known as

homofermentors meaning that they produce a single product of glucose
fermentation.
• They are Gram-positive, catalase negative, non-motile coccus that are
found singly, in pairs or in chains. Some of the strains of lactococci are
known to grow at or below 7 °C.
• Lactococci are intimately associated with dairy products. These organisms
are commonly used in the dairy industry in the manufacture of fermented
dairy products like cheeses.
• They can be used in single strain starter cultures or in mixed strain
cultures with other lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus and
Streptococcus.
• Their main purpose in dairy production is the rapid acidification of milk.
This causes drop in the pH of fermented product which prevents the
growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria.
• These bacteria also play a role in the flavor of the final product. Dairy
lactococci have also been exploited for several industrial fermentations in
the biotechnology industry. They are easily grown at industrial scale up on
cheap whey based media.
 Lactobacillus
• (L. bulgaricus, L. helveticus. L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. casei, L. lactis,
L. fermentum)
• The organisms belonging to this important genus are rods usually long
and slender and in some of the species form chains.
• They are aerotolerant/microaerophilic but some ferment sugars chiefly to
lactic acids if they are homofermentative.
• The hetero fermentative species, besides lactic acid, also produce small
amount of acetic acid, carbon dioxide and trace amounts of volatile
compounds such acetaldehyde and alcohol.
• The homofermentative species of Lactobacillus include L. bulgaricus, L.
casei, L. helveticus, L. lactis, L. acidophilus and grow optimally at 37 °C. L.
fermentum, L. brevis are the typical example of hetero fermentative
Lactobacillus and grow well at higher temperatures.
• Lactobacilli are of considerable importance in foods as they ferment sugar
to lactic acid and other desirable flavouring compounds and are thus used
in the production of fermented plant dairy and meat products. However,
they are also implicated in the spoilage of wine and beer.
• The organism normally occurs on plant surfaces silage,
manure and dairy products.
• They are quite fastidious in their nutritional requirements as
they are unable to synthesize certain vitamins they require
and, therefore, media need to be supplemented with these
vitamins for their growth.
• Some of the strains are psychotrophic in nature and are thus
involved in the spoilage of refrigerated meats. On the other
hand thermoduric properties (resistance to pasteurization
temperature) of some of the thermophilic strains of
lactobacilli are quite useful in the manufacture of certain
varieties of cheeses e.g. Swiss cheese. Some strains of
lactobacilli also show probiotic attributes and are finding
application in functional probiotic foods and in
pharmaceutical preparations.
 Leuconostoc

• Leuconostoc is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria,

placed within the family of Leuconostocaceae.
• They are generally ovoid cocci often forming chains.
• All species within this genus are heterofermentative
and are able to produce dextran from sucrose. They are
generally slime-forming. Blamed for causing the 'stink'
when creating a sourdough starter, some species are
also capable of causing human infection.
• Leuconostoc spp. along with other lactic acid bacteria
such as Pediococcus and Lactobacillus spp , is
responsible for the fermentation of cabbage, to
sauerkraut.
• In this process the sugars in fresh cabbage are
transformed to lactic acid which give it a sour flavour
and good keeping qualities.
 Listeria monocytogenes
• Listeria monocytogenes in foods has attracted worldwide attention
due to the serious illness it causes in human beings.
• The Listeria are Gram positive non spore forming, nonacid-fast
rods. The organism is catalase positive and produces lactic acid
from glucose and other fermentable sugars.
• The organism grows well in brain heart infusion (BHI), trypticase
soy, and tryptose broths. However, the medium should be fortified
with B. vitamins and the amino acids.
• It is a mesophilic organism with optimal growth temperature 37°C
but it can grow at refrigerator temperature also. Strains grows
over the temperature range of 1°C to 45°C and pH range 4.1 to
9.6.
• Listeria monocytogenes is widely distributed in nature and can be
isolated from decaying vegetation, soil, animal feces, sewage,
silage and water. The organism has been found in raw milk, pork,
raw poultry, ground beef and vegetables. The HTST treatment of
pasteurization is good enough to destroy the organism in milk.
• The most significant virulence factor associated with L.
monocytogenes is listeriolysin O. The virulent strains
produce β-hemolysis on blood agar and acid from rhamnose.
• L. monocytogenes grows well in moderate salt
concentrations (6.5%).
• L. monocytogenes is unique among foodborne pathogens
while other pathogens excrete toxins or multiply in the blood
stream, L. monocytogenes enters the host’s cells and grows
inside the cell. In humans it crosses the intestinal barrier
after entering by the oral route.
• Ready to Eat (RTE) foods that are preserved by refrigeration
pose a special challenge with regard to L. monocytogenes
infection.
 Propionibacterium spp. (P.
freudenreichii)
• Historically, Propionibacterium spp. are of interest because
of their use as dairy starters (especially in the production of
Swiss-type cheese) and their ability to produce propionic
acid during growth.
• The dairy Propionibacterium spp. can also be isolated
primarily from dairy foods and silage. The species in dairy
products include P. jensenii, P. acidipropionici, P. theonii P.
freudenreichii.
• Propionibacteria have a role in the production of flavour
compounds in cheese by proteolysis and propionic acid
production.
• Dairy strains of propionibacteria are autolytic under
environmental conditions found in cheese and degrade
peptides and amino acids that are present in the cheese.
and
• The dairy species offer an interesting opportunity as novel
probiotic organisms with the most obvious advantage being
 (Pediococcus pentosaceus,
P. acidilactici)
• Pediococci compromise a group of bacteria that are
of economic importance in the brewing and food
industries.
• Several species and strains of pediococci have been
used as starter cultures in the fermentation of
vegetables, meats, sausage products, fermented
milks and associated with the development of flavor
in Cheddar and other related cheese varieties.
• Some strains form capsular material that causes beer
to become ropy and viscous.
• They are catalase negative and exhibit a homolactic
type of fermentation and produce optically inactive
lactic acid i.e. a mixture of the L(+) and D(-) type.
They generally appear in tetrads.
Salmonella (S. typhimurium,
S. typhi, S.enteritidis)
• Salmonella spp. have been reported to be a leading cause of
foodborne illnesses in humans.
• Foodborne salmonellosis scores over all other foodborne
bacterial illnesses in humans. Enteric fever is a serious
human disease associated with typhoid and paratyphoid
strains.
• The optimum growth temperature is 37-45 °C. The organism
can also grow at about 7°C in foods.
• I t ferments carbohydrates with its production of acid and
gas. Salmonella are oxidase negative, catalase positive and
grow on citrate as a sole carbon source and produce H2S.
Some Salmonella strains can grow at higher temperatures
(54 °C) while others exhibit psychrotrophic properties.
• The organism has the ability to grow at pH values
ranging from 4.5 to 9.5, with an optimum pH
growth at 6.5 to 7.5. spp. are facultatively
anaerobic, small Gram-negative, non spore
forming, rod-shaped (2-4 m m) bacteria
belonging to the family
• Milk, meat and poultry are principle vehicles of
human foodborne salmonellosis. Ingestion of only
a few salmonella cells can be infectious. Low
levels of salmonellae in a finished food products
may, therefore, be of serious public health
consequence.
 Streptococcus
thermophilus
• The only streptococcus species that is associated with food
technology is S. thermophilus which is used in the manufacture of
yoghurt (in co culture with L. bulgaricus and Dahi).
• S. thermophilus is a Gram positive facultative anaerobe and
belongs to the family Streptococcaceae. It is catalase negative
organism that is non-motile, non-spore forming and
homofermentative and occurs in pairs to long chains.
• The spherical to avoid cells are with a diameter in the range of 0.7
to 0.9 µm. The optimum temperature for the growth of this
organism is between 39°C to 45°C, although most species in the
genus are able to grow at temperature ranging from 45-60°C.
• They do not grow at temperature below 20°C, but they can survive
at 65 for 30 min. They ferment sugars with L (+) lactic acid as the
major end product and produce around 0.6 to 0.8% lactic acid.
They are able to grow in broth with 2.5% NaCl but fail to grow in
6.5% NaCl at pH 9.6 or in milk with 0.1% methylene blue (Bergey’s
Manual 1994).
• It is also classified as lactic acid bacteria
(LAB). It is a very versatile organism. S.
thermophilus has properties that make it
one of the commercially most important
lactic acid organism. S. thermophilus is used
along with Lactobacillus spp., as a starter
culture to manufacture several important
fermented dairy foods including yoghurt and
mozzarella cheese.
Though the natural habitat of S.
thermophilus is yet to be established, most
strains have been isolated from milk
environments.
 Shigella

• Bacillary dysentery, or shigellosis, is caused

by Shigella species. Shigella is a member of
the family Enterobacteriaceae. The growth
temperature varies from 10 to 48 °C.
• Shigella does not usually survive well in low
pH foods. Shigella is sensitive to ionizing
radiations.
• species are non-motile, oxidase negative
produce acid only from sugars; do not grow
on citrate as sole carbon source, do not
grow on KCN agar, and unlike Salmonellae
do not produce Hydrogen
• Shigellosis is an important disease in developed
and developing countries. Disease is caused by
ingestion of contaminated foods, and in some
instances it subsequently leads to rapid
dissemination through contaminated feces from
infected individuals.
• The infective dose may be as low as 100 cells.
Contamination of foods usually does not occur at
the processing plant but rather through an
infected food handler. Humans are the natural
reservoir of Shigella. The organism is spread
through the fecal-oral route.
 Vibrio
• Vibrio cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus are the two
important species of the genus Vibrio.
• Vibrio cholerae O1 causes cholera, one of the few food
borne illnesses with epidemic and pandemic potential.
• Vibrio cholerae are Gram-negative straight or curved rods
and belong to the family Vibrionaceae. Important
distinctions within the species are made on the basis of
productions of cholera enterotoxin (CT) and serogroup.
• Vibrio cholerae is part of the normal free living bacterial
flora in estuarine areas.
• Amongst the many different enrichment broths described for
the isolation of vibrios alkaline peptone water is the most
commonly used.
• Though V. parahaemolyticus can grow in the presence of 1-
8% NaCl, the best growth occurs in the salt concentration 2
to 4%.
 Yersinia
• Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pestis are the two
important human pathogens while Y. enterocolitica
causes food borne gastroenteritis, Y. pestis is an
agent of human plague.
• Y. enterocolitica also known as newly emerging
human pathogen is a heterogeneous species that is
divisible into a large number of subgroups.
• Y. enterocolitica is unusual because it can grow at
temperatures below 4 °C. The generations time at
the 28-30 °C (Optimum growth temperature) is
almost 34 min.
• It also survives in frozen foods. It grows better in
processed foods such as pasteurized milk, vacuum
packed meat, boiled eggs, boiled fish, and cottage
cheese.
• Both the species can grow over a pH range of 4
to 10 (optimum pH is 7.6) and tolerate alkaline
environment well. They can motile at a
temperature < 30 °C.
• However, both these organisms are susceptible
to pasteurization, ionizing and ultraviolet (UV)
irradiation. The organism can also tolerate upto
5% NaCl.
Infections with Yersinia species are due to
transmittance of the organism from animals to
humans. The organism is frequently present in
pork, lamb, poultry and dairy products.