Abstract
The following sections include discussions of research opportunities and needs associated with low-moisture/low-water activity foods. Preventing contamination of low-moisture foods begins with developing an understanding of the microbiological ecosystems associated with commodities and ingredients that comprise low-a w foods beginning at growing and harvesting through their primary and final processing. This includes developing more rapid and sensitive microbiological methods for isolating foodborne pathogens and identifying newly emerging microorganisms of concern.
The effectiveness of any food process relies on the validation of its efficacy to kill or control foodborne pathogens; hence, many processes used in the production of low-moisture foods need to be validated to ensure their usefulness in mitigating food safety hazards. This also highlights the need for appropriate validated surrogate microorganisms and protocols to perform these studies for a seemingly unlimited number of low-moisture foods and food processes.
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Hardin, M. (2014). Research Gaps and Needs Pertaining to Microbial Pathogens in Spices and Low-a w Foods. In: Gurtler, J., Doyle, M., Kornacki, J. (eds) The Microbiological Safety of Low Water Activity Foods and Spices. Food Microbiology and Food Safety(). Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2062-4_22
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