Microbiological Quality and Safety in Animal and Vegetable-Sourced Food

Dear Colleagues,

Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemicals still causes more than 200 illnesses. Of these, diarrhoeal diseases are the most common, resulting from the consumption of contaminated food and causing a multitude of deaths every year. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), every year, almost 1 in 10 people in the world fall ill after consuming contaminated food and more than 400,000 die every year from food-borne diseases. Much of the food produced, despite great progress in the development of increasingly advanced preservation technologies, is wasted due to microbiological spoilage. Therefore, food safety still represents a significant public health challenge. Food of an animal origin continues to be the source of most documented and reported outbreaks. However, there has been an increase in the number of outbreaks, human cases, and hospitalisations associated with foods of vegetable origin, namely fruit, vegetables, salads, seeds, nuts, cereals, herbs, and spices. In addition, the occurrence of new health emergencies related to food consumption, such as emerging biological hazards, antimicrobial resistance, or the presence of micro- and nanoplastics, presents new challenges in the field of scientific research. This Special Issue will focus on the microbiological quality and safety of fresh and processed foods of animal and vegetable origin and the study of the microbiota, through the application of traditional and innovative methods, to ensure higher quality standards and consumer protection.

Dr. Nicoletta Cristiana Quaglia
Guest Editor

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