Dispersal of Aerobic Endospore-forming Bacteria from Soil and Agricultural Activities to Food and Feed

Abstract

For specific aerobic endospore-formers, the soil route of contamination or dispersal is the start of what is sometimes a long series of events or processes in the agro-food chain that eventually leads to important problems or concerns for food safety and/or quality. In the dairy sector, Bacillus cereus is the most important pathogen or spoilage organism that, through the faecal or the direct soil route of contamination, contaminates pasteurized milk. In the case of contamination of UHT-milk, Bacillus sporothermodurans originates mainly from feed concentrate, but a soil origin has not yet been demonstrated. For the fruit juice industry, Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris present on raw fruits has become a major quality-target organism. In the ready-to-eat food sector, concerns regarding B. cereus and other aerobic endospore-formers, introduced via vegetables, fruits or herbs and spices, have also increased in recent years.