COURSE OVERVIEW:

Welcome to the Introduction to Food Microbiology course. This program will equip you with the essential microbiological knowledge and practical understanding required to manage food safety, prevent contamination, and protect consumers from food-borne illness. You will explore the behaviour of bacteria, moulds, fungi, and viruses in food environments, as well as the environmental conditions that encourage or inhibit microbial growth. This course also examines cross-contamination risks, microbiological standards, routine testing, and the safety procedures necessary to keep microorganisms at safe levels in catering, hospitality, and food-handling operations.

This course begins by examining the categories of food poisoning and the different types of bacteria involved in food microbiology. You will explore the characteristics of bacteria, how bacteria are differentiated by their shape, and how some bacteria release poisons known as toxins. This section also explains the process of identifying bacteria, the multiplication of bacteria, and the factors that influence bacterial growth and reproduction. You will explore how bacteria grow in a wide variety of foodstuffs, the nutrients they require, the relationship between pH and bacterial growth, and the environmental factors that enable or limit bacterial activity. This section further examines the factors influencing mould growth, the factors affecting fungi growth, the significance of moulds and fungi to caterers, and the principles of preventing and controlling mould growth.

The next learning area focuses on toxins and food-borne pathogens. You will explore what toxins are, how food-poisoning organisms affect people, and detailed examples of significant bacterial hazards including Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Campylobacter, Salmonella, staphylococcal toxin, botulinum toxin, and Bacillus cereus. This section also introduces the role of viruses in food microbiology, the symptoms and characteristics of Hepatitis A, Hepatitis E, and viral gastroenteritis, and how viral contamination of food occurs. You will explore how viruses are transmitted through shellfish, fruit and vegetables, and through secondary contamination by food handlers.

A further part of the program examines cross-contamination, including contamination from food handlers, insects, and chemicals. You will explore the four main vehicles of cross-contamination and the two main routes by which cross-contamination occurs. This section also explains how to control and prevent cross-contamination through safe food-handling practices, personal hygiene, cleaning regimes, and effective separation of raw and ready-to-eat foods.

The final learning area focuses on microbiological standards and testing. You will explore bacteriological standards, product specifications, and the categories used when adopting microbiological specifications. This section also explains the advantages of microbiological standards, how to maintain them, and the procedures used to keep microorganisms to a minimum during food storage, preparation, and service. You will examine microbiological criteria for foods, routine testing for microbiological contamination, the types of microbiological criteria and their legal status, and the use of microbiological standards, specifications, and guidelines in food production. Finally, you will explore sampling and analysis methods that support accurate monitoring and compliance.

By the end of this course you will be able to understand microbial behaviour in food, identify key pathogens and toxins, prevent cross-contamination, apply microbiological standards, and implement procedures that ensure food safety across a wide range of catering and food-handling environments.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

·       The categories of food poisoning

·       The different types of bacteria        

·       The characteristics of bacteria

·       How bacteria are differentiated by their shape?        

·       How bacteria can release poisons known as toxins?

·       The process of identifying bacteria

·       The multiplication of bacteria and factors influencing multiplication

·       How bacteria grow and multiplies in a wide variety of foodstuffs?

·       The nutrients for bacteria

·       pH and bacterial growth

·       What enables bacteria to grow?

·       The factors influencing the growth of mould

·       The factors that effects fungi growth

·       The significance of moulds and other fungi to the caterer  

·       Prevention and control of mould growth 

·       What are toxins?

·       How food poisoning organisms can affect people?   

·       The clostridium perfringens

·       The Escherichia coli

·       The campylobacter and salmonella

·       The staphylococcal toxin

·       The botulinum toxin     

·       The bacillus cereus organism

·       What are viruses?

·       The Hepatitis A disease and symptoms  

·       The Hepatitis E disease

·       Viral gastroenteritis and symptoms

·       The viral contamination of food

·       The viruses transmitted through shellfish

·       The viral contamination through fruit and vegetables

·       The secondary contamination by food handlers        

·       Cross-contamination via food handlers, insects and chemicals  

·       The four main vehicles in cross-contamination

·       The two main routes by which cross-contamination can occur

·       How to control cross-contamination?      

·       How to prevent cross-contamination?     

·       The bacteriological standards

·       Specifications for food products

·       The categories used when adopting microbiological specification

·       The advantages of microbiological standards  

·       The maintenance of standards      

·       The procedures to keep micro-organisms to a minimum    

·       The microbiological criteria for foods      

·       The routine testing for microbiological contamination         

·       The types of microbiological criteria and their legal status 

·       The microbiological standards, specifications and guidelines         

·       Sampling and analysis

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.