Bacterial Spores and Food Safety

Bacterial spores when present in processed foods can germinate under favorable conditions and cause either food spoilage or food borne illnesses when the food is consumed. E.g. the spores of Clostridium botulinum present in low acid canned foods. The use of high temperature processing in combination with anaerobic storage conditions is usually sufficient to eliminate bacterial spores based on their D-values. However, if marginal heating is done (sub-lethal heat processing) due to compromises for nutritional or organoleptic quality, the spores may survive and subsequently germinate, causing a food safety problem. Although GMP of thermally processed foods requires that enough heating be applied to eliminate microbial vegetative organisms and spores, sometimes residual bacterial spores, especially the spores of thermophillic organisms may still be present following the heating process of canned foods. However these thermophillic spores may pose no food safety problem due to the fact that the cans are cooled down quickly following the heating process and then stored at room temperature conditions, which inhibit the germination, and subsequent proliferation of the spores. In dried/powdered foods that are to be reconstituted before consumption, bacterial spores, if present, can become a food safety problem and can lead to spoilage of the improperly stored reconstituted food or lead to intoxication of consumers when the food is ingested.
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Trends in Carbohydrate Consumption in the U.S

The trends in carbohydrate consumption in the U.S. had been increasing for almost a decade since 1990. This increase is especially noticed for carbohydrate consumption in form of caloric sweeteners, and refined carbohydrate products. Caloric sweetener consumption as used in sweetening drinks like tea, fruit juice, or sodas; or as used in products like candies, baked goods, and fried flour-based products tremendously increased (almost doubled) between 2000 to 2003. The consumption of refined carbohydrate products like bread, pasta, and breakfast cereals in the U.S. also increased from 1993 to 2003. This increase may have resulted from the fortification of bread and cereals with vitamins and minerals, which caused a lot of consumers, especially women of child-bearing age, to increase their intake of these fortified high carbohydrate foods.

Furthermore, the advice by the USDA within that period for consumers to decrease their total lipid intake, led to a colloquial idea that carbohydrate intake could be increased without causing much harm. The consumers believed that "if fats are bad, then carbs are good". The information sent out by the USDA food pyramid of 1990 only helped to make matters worse. This pyramid featured high carbohydrate foods at its base and encouraged the average consumer to consume at least 5-6 servings of carbohydrate rich foods. Food industries and manufacturers were not left out of the "fat is bad" hit. Efforts were made to compensate for deceasing fat content in processed foods, by increasing their total sugar content. This was done in a bid to maintain good taste and functional properties as well as consumer appeal in food products.

In recent times (within the last few years) however, the use of calorie reduced sweeteners in food product formulation has been received as a saving grace to the "too much sugar situation". Many food manufacturers, formulators and consumers have embraced these non-caloric and reduced-caloric sweeteners as the means to reducing the high sugar content of most sweet foods. Furthermore recent focus on the use of whole cereal and grains in food product development, and the addition of soluble and insoluble fibers to carbohydrate rich foods, are geared towards improving the nutritional content of foods formerly developed with refined carbohydrate ingredients, thereby making them more healthy for consumption.
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