CHARACTERISTICS OF MICRO-ORGANISM

 NUTRITION
Microorganism acquire their nourishment by any of the following three method:
1. By feeding on dead and decaying organic matter. Such microorganisms are called
saprophytes. Bacteria, yeast and molds are saprophytic.
2. By feeding on living hot cells, such microorganisms thrive at the expense of the host and are
called parasites. Viruses, some bacteria, some fungi and protozoa are parasitic on plants and
animals.
3. By manufacturing their own food. Green algae contain chlorophyll and can produce their
own food by the process of photosynthesis just like plants.
 RESPIRATION
On the basis of oxygen requirements, microorganism are classified into three broad categories:
1. AEROBES: These microorganisms use oxygen to release energy from food, for example,
algae, protozoa and some bacteria like salmonella which causes typhoid.
2. ANAEROBES: These microorganisms obtain their energy without oxygen for example,
viruses, some fungi and bacteria and bacteria clostridium which cause food poisoning.
3. FACULTATIVE ORGANISMS: They can respire either aerobically or an aerobically like
shigella which causes bacillary dysentery and staphylococci which causes food poisoning.
Most microorganisms are harmless to humans. The metabolic wastes produced by parasitic
microorganisms like viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa are toxin to living cells. These
poisons or toxins produce the symptoms of disease such as fever, inflammation, headache,
nausea and gastro- intestinal upsets.
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 FACTORS AFFECTING GROWTH OF
MICROBES IN FOOD

Various environmental conditions affect the growth and multiplication of microbes. The
important factors which have an influence on growth are explained:
1. FOOD AND NUTRIENTS: food serves as a substrate for microbes. They use our food
supply as a source of nutrients for their growth. Microorganisms require food for energy
and growth. They need carbohydrates and proteins as a source of carbon and nitrogen
respectively. Some microorganisms can synthesise a few or all of the vitamins needed,
others depend on food for them.
2. PH LEVEL : most bacteria prefer a neutral ph between 6.5 to 7.5, but some can grow at a
low or high ph. Molds and yeast grow better in an acidic medium of ph 4 to 4.5 as
compared to bacteria. In general, foods with an acidic ph have a better keeping quality,
like curds, pickles and fruit.
3. WATER ACTIVITY: As water accounts for large percentage of the weight of the cell, it is
absolutely necessary for growth of all microorganisms. Water or moist conditions
encourage the growth of most microorganisms. Therefore, food should be stored in well
ventilated, dry and cool storage areas and not in humid kitchen.
4. TEMPERATURE: High and low temperature have a significant influence on microbial
growth. At high temp. (above 65°C), microorganisms are destroyed and at low temp.
Their growth is retarded (below 5°C).
Effects of temperature on bacterial growth
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5. OXYGEN: oxygen is necessary for all aerobic microorganism. Anaerobic

microorganism do not require it and it may even be toxic to certain anaerobic
microorganism. Molds and most yeast grow better in presence of oxygen.
6. TIME: If microorganism are given a favourable environment in terms of temp.,
moisture and nourishment, they multiply rapidly and in a short span of time they
would have multiplied to numbers large enough to cause harm.
7. SUNLIGHT OR ULTRAVIOLET RAYS: Microbial growth is encouraged in dark humid
places and not in well lit and naturally ventilated places. This is because ultraviolet
rays are present in sunlight. These rays destroy microbes. They are used to purify air in
food storage areas and surface sterilisation of certain foods like meat and cheese.
COMMON FOOD- BORNE MICROORGANISM

There are five groups of microorganism of importance in food microbiology. They are viruses,
bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa.
 VIRUSES: Viruses are strictly parasitic and cannot be cultivated outside the living host cell.
They feed on living cells of plants and animals and are pathogenic. They are very minute in size
and can only be observed under an electron microscope.
• SHAPE AND SIZE: Viruses appear as spheres. Other appear as coil surrounded by a jacket.
They vary in size from 0.015 microns to 0.2 microns. A micron is a unit of length equal to one
thousandth of a millimetre.
 BACTERIA: Bacteria are found everywhere – in and on soil, water, air, plants, animals, humans
and their food. Bacteria are both useful and harmful to humans. They are capable of fermenting
sugar to lactic acid. This makes them important in the manufacture of dairy products like curds,
yoghurt, buttermilk and cheese, and fermented vegetables product like sauerkraut and dill
pickles.
• SHAPE AND SIZE: Bacteria are minute, unicellular organisms of variable shape and activity.
They are so minute that it would take 1000 bacteria to cover the point of pencil. The size of a
bacterial cell range from 0.2 microns to 10 microns and on an average is 1 micron in size. They
can be seen through the oil immersion lens of a compound microscope.
• CAPSULE AND SLIME LAYER: some bacteria may be surrounded by a capsule or a slime layer.
This covering has a protective function and increases resistance t adverse conditions such as
heat or sliminess or ropiness of contaminated food.
 FUNGI: fungi includes the lower plants and are usually multicellular, but the plant body
is not differentiated into roots, stem and leaves. They are mainly saprophytes and lack
chlorophyll. Some may be parasitic. They vary in size from the small microscopic yeasts
to mushrooms in the fields. All of them are widely distributed in nature. Fungi include
both yeast and molds.
 ALGAE: Algae include both unicellular and multicellular organisms found naturally in
water. They contain chlorophyll and are photosynthetic.
 PROTOZOA: protozoan's belong to the animal kingdom. They are unicellular. Some are
parasitic.