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Flour and Meal

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The Microbiological Safety of Low Water Activity Foods and Spices

Part of the book series: Food Microbiology and Food Safety ((PRACT))

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Abstract

Flour and meal play a large role in our day-to-day lives as a basic source of human nutrition since they are the principal part of the diet for a large part of the world’s population. Most cereal grains are milled into flour or meal and then mixed into dough for baking into breads, biscuits, cakes, or pastries or for drying as pasta. There are also circumstances where they are used as carriers for nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, spices, and flavors or as bulking/caloric agents in dried mixes and as an ingredient in ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat products. The principal microorganisms of concern are Salmonella and mycotoxigenic fungi. This chapter will discuss the microorganisms of interest, provide an overview of flour- and meal-related outbreaks, review sources of microbial contamination prior to milling, and discuss the management and mitigation of microbiological risks during the milling process.

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  1. ConAgra Foods, 5 ConAgra Dr. MS 5-430, Omaha, NE, 68102, USA

    Deann Akins-Lewenthal Ph.D.

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  1. Deann Akins-Lewenthal Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Deann Akins-Lewenthal Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Food Safety Intervention Technologies, U.S. Department of Agriculture ARS, Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, USA

    Joshua B. Gurtler

  2. University of Georgia Center of Food Safety, Griffin, Georgia, USA

    Michael P. Doyle

  3. Kornacki Microbiology Solutions, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Jeffrey L. Kornacki

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Akins-Lewenthal, D. (2014). Flour and Meal. 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_13

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