Food Safety: Microbial and Environmental Contamination in the Food Industry

Dear Colleagues,

Most studies on food safety currently focus on the biotic (microbiological) contamination of food, and such studies are generally limited to microbiological issues associated with the food or the consumer. However, contamination of the food environment is a prerequisite to such issues, and hence, studies on microbial contamination of these areas deserve the same importance and publication space in scientific journals.

The formation of biofilm and its interaction with surfaces has become highly relevant as a source of potential contamination in the food, water and hospital environments. For example, pathogenic microorganisms, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a human pathogen capable of forming biofilms and contaminating medical environments, are responsible for 65% of mortality in hospitals worldwide. Pseudomonas spp. are also a known contaminant of water systems and the food industry.

Classical environmental pollutants, such as heavy metals and pesticides, require studies on risk assessment and exposure in different environments. Further, there is now the risk of exposure to new contaminants such as microplastics and nanoparticles which also urgently require risk assessment. Such contaminants require hazard identification and characterization, exposure assessments and risk characterization. Such results may inform legislation of the acceptable levels of such materials.

Dr. Conrado Javier Carrascosa Iruzubieta
Prof. Dr. Arturo Hardisson de la Torre
Prof. Dr. Carmen Rubio
Prof. Dr. Kathryn A. Whitehead
Guest Editors

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