Glossary

Measure of the amount of a specific substance (usually a food additive, or a residue of a veterinary drug or pesticide) in food or drinking water that can be ingested (orally) over a lifetime without an appreciable health risk. ADIs are expressed by body mass, usually in milligrams (of the substance) per kilograms of body mass per day.

Literally means without air (where "air" is generally used to mean oxygen), as opposed to aerobic.

A substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microbes such as bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Antimicrobial either kill microbes (microbicidal) or prevent the growth of microbes (microbistatic).

Compounds used to prevent the spread of fungi.

Adenosine triphosphate, the universal energy currency of all known living organisms.

A genus of rod-shaped Gram-positive bacteria.

Single-celled micro organisms of microscopic size. There are approximately five nonillion (5×1030) bacteria in the world. Some bacteria are "harmful" and can cause disease, while other "friendly" bacteria play an important role to maintain a healthy body.

Refers to the reduction of the body of a formerly living organism into simpler forms of matter by bacteria

Bacteriocins are relatively simple proteins produced by bacteria to inhibit the growth of similar or closely related bacterial strain(s) simpler forms of matter by bacteria.

A biocide is a chemical substance capable of killing living organisms, usually in a selective way.

Referring to living organisms.

The genus Campylobacter are Gram-negative rod-like bacteria. Campylobacter jejuni is now recognised as one of the main causes of bacterial foodborne disease in many developed countries.

Refers to any substance or agent directly involved in the promotion of cancer or in the facilitation of its propagation.

Refers to the action of breaking down large molecules into smaller units thus releasing energy

Death of a cell by breaking of the cellular membrane, thus compromising its integrity.

Refers to the killing of different forms of living organisms.

Clostridium is a large genus of Gram-positive bacteria. Clostridium includes common free-living bacteria as well as important pathogens. There are four main species responsible for disease in humans:

- C. botulinum, an organism producing a toxin in food that causes botulism
- C. difficile, which can overgrow other bacteria in the gut during antibiotic therapy, can cause pseudomembranous colitis
- C. perfringens, causes a wide range of symptoms, from food poisoning to gas gangrene
- C. tetani, the causative organism of tetanus.

Contamination is the introduction of contaminants into an environment such as food occurring at such unnaturally high concentration that it endangers the stability of that environment.

Cross-resistance is the tolerance to a usually toxic substance as a result of exposure to a similarly acting substance.

The cytoplasmic membrane (also called the plasma membrane) is a semipermeable lipid bilayer found in all cells. It contains a wide variety of biological molecules, primarily proteins and lipids, which are involved in a vast array of cellular processes, and also serves as the attachment point for both the intracellular cytoskeleton and, if present, the cell wall.

Escherichia coli is a bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals. Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for costly product recalls.

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all the non-living physical factors of the environment. Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms are continually engaged in a set of relationships with every other element constituting the environment in which they exist.

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalyse (i.e. increase the rates of) chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called substrates, and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products.  

An extract consists of a certain percentage of true essence obtained by extracting the essential oil from blossoms, fruits, roots or whole plants.

Product of a fermentation.

The process by which complex organic substances such as sugars are broken down into simpler units without using oxygen (anaerobic) thus producing energy.

The bacterial flora is the whole system of bacteria in body cavities that have contact with the outside world.

Complex food systems.

The fungi are organisms characterized in the majority of species by filamentous growth forming a mycelium. Sexual and asexual reproduction is via spores. Yeasts, moulds, and mushrooms are examples of fungi.

Gram-negative bacteria are those bacteria that do not retain crystal violet dye in the Gram staining protocol, coloring them a red or pink color.

Many species of Gram-negative bacteria are pathogenic, meaning they can cause disease in a host organism. Among Gram-negative bacteria, we find Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and other Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, Moraxella, Helicobacter, Stenotrophomonas, Bdellovibrio, acetic acid bacteria or Legionella.

Gram-positive bacteria are able to retain a crystal violet dye during the Gram stain process.

Gram-positive bacteria appear blue or violet under a microscope. It includes many well-known genera such as Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Listeria, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Clostridium.

An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species.

An ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more electrons, making it positively or negatively charged.

Intoxication refers to the effects caused by the ingestion of poison, drugs or by the overconsumption of normally harmless substances.

A gram-positive non spore-forming lactic acid bacterial genus of five major species formerly included as members of the genus Streptococcus Group.

Lantibiotics are a class of relatively heat stable peptides that differ from antibiotics in that they do not exhibit cross reactivity. They are produced by a large number of Gram positive bacteria such as Lactococcus and Streptomyces to attack other gram positive bacteria, and as such they are considered a member of the bacteriocins.

Listeria comprises widespread Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic bacteria that do not form spores and are naturally present in soil, water and plant material, especially in early decomposition stage (eg. silage). The genus Listeria comprises 6 species of which Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovi are pathogenic in relation to animals, including humans.

According to USDA/FDA and EU authorities, today Listeria is mostly prevalent in meat, seafood and fish products, whether raw, frozen, smoked, dried or cooked, boiled (when refrigerated).

Listeriosis can be lethal with pregnant women, unborn and newborns children and people with immunodeficiency and, at best, do provoke strong inflammation of the meninges and the brain in healthy adults.

As a consequence, it represents such a rising safety risk for the consumers and a subsequent high cost of curing by the medical system, that most authorities are working to reduce or suppress Listeria presence in sensitive food products.

Metabolites are the intermediates and products of a set of chemical reaction called metabolism occurring in living organisms in order to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. The term metabolite is usually restricted to small molecules.

A micelle (rarely micella, plural micelles) is an aggregate of surfactant molecules dispersed in a liquid mixture. It is possible that bacteria are protected within micelles like a droplet in a food matrix, for example, Listeria exists in some fat micelles in some dairy products.

Microbial Food Cultures (MFC) are live bacteria, yeasts or moulds used in food production.

Microbial Food Cultures (MFC) preparations are formulations, consisting of concentrations of one or more microbial food cultures including unavoidable media components carried over from the fermentation and components, which are necessary for their survival, storage, standardisation and to facilitate their application in the food production process.

MFC preparations may contain one or several microbial species.

A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is microscopic (too small to be seen by the naked human eye). Microorganisms are incredibly diverse and include bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protists, as well as some microscopic plants and animals such as plankton, and popularly-known animals such as the planarian and the amoeba. They do not include viruses and prions, which are generally classified as non-living.

The smallest sufficiently stable electrically neutral particles of pure chemical substances that still retain their composition and chemical properties.

Being prevalent everywhere in our environment, even more than bacteria which are sensitive to UV, with their spores easily transported through the air on very long distance, moulds are very resistant organisms growing faster in warm and humid environment (e.g. lungs).

It is estimated that, between 50 to 100 of common indoor mould types (over 100,000 species known worldwide), have the potential of creating health problems such as skins and eyes irritations, allergic syndromes, but the overall health problem created by moulds is yet to be understood although there could be a link with higher prevalence of asthma in some sensitive populations.

Therefore limiting growth of moulds in our immediate environment, at least that we breath or ingest, can be regarded as a preventive safeguarding intervention measure.

Mycotoxin is a toxin produced by an organism of the fungus kingdom, which includes mushrooms, moulds and yeasts.

Some toxins are lethal, some cause identifiable diseases or health problems, some weaken the immune system without producing symptoms specific to that toxin, some act as allergens or irritants, and some have no known effect on humans.

Some mycotoxins generally have more negative impacts on farm animal populations than on humans. Some mycotoxins are harmful to other micro-organisms such as other fungi or even bacteria; penicillin is one example.

NATAMAX® is a polyene macrolide antimycotic produced naturally in a fermentation process by the bacterium Streptomyces using a patented process.

Nisin A, Nisaplin®, is a small (34 amino acid) heat-stable antimicrobial peptide, classified as a class I bacteriocin or lanbiotic. It is the only nisin that is codex- and JEFCA- approved in the world.

The molecule contains membrane-active amino acids (peptides) which enable the molecule to adsorb itself to the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane surface, forming pores. The first commercial production took place by the controlled growth of Lactococcus lactis on milk.

Today a non-dairy medium is used. Modern filtration techniques are employed for concentration and separation purposes before the nisin is dried and standardised to a specific potency by the addition of natural sea salt.

Nucleosides are glycosylamines made by attaching a nucleobase (often referred to simply as base) to a ribose or deoxyribose ring. In short, a nucleoside is a base linked to sugar.

The basic definition of organic “includes all agricultural systems that promote environmentally, socially and economically sound production of food and fibers. Recycling nutrients and strengthening natural processes help to maintain soil fertility and ensure successful production.

By respecting the natural capacity of plants, animals and the landscape, it aims to optimise quality in all aspects of agriculture and the environment.

Organic Agriculture dramatically reduces external inputs by refraining from the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, genetically modified organisms and pharmaceuticals. Pests and diseases are controlled by natural means and substances, according to traditional and modern scientific knowledge, to increase agricultural yields and disease resistance.

An organic acid is an organic compound with acidic properties. Research in the food preservation field has brought clear explanation on the capacity of organic acids to inhibit the growth of bacteria.

Describes the loss of electrons by a molecule, atom or ion.

A microorganism – mainly bacterium– that causes disease.

Peptides are short polymers formed from the linking, in a defined order, of α-amino acids. The link between one amino acid residue and the next is known as an amide bond or a peptide bond.

An opening across both inner and outer bacterial membranes, a part of many Gram-negative bacterial secretion systems.

A preservative is a natural or synthetic chemical that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc. to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes.

Preservative food additives can be used alone or in conjunction with other methods of food preservation.

Preservatives may be anti-microbial preservatives, which inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi, or antioxidants such as oxygen absorbers, which inhibit the oxidation of food constituents.

Refers to the directed degradation (digestion) of proteins by cellular enzymes called proteases or by intramolecular digestion.

Pseudomonas is a genus of Gram-negative, rod-shaped and polar-flagella bacteria.

Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped Gram-negative enterobacteria that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and foodborne illness.

Refers to a level in taxonomy. First Genus name, second species name, e.g. Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Homo Sapiens.

Biological process through which organic material is reduced.

In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersion and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions.

Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae and fungi.

A chief difference between spores and seeds as dispersal units is that spores have very little stored food resources compared with seeds.

A microbiological culture which actually performs fermentation.

They usually consist of a cultivation medium, such grains, seeds, or nutrient liquids that has been well colonized by the microorganisms used for the fermentation.

Strains are bacteria that belong to the same species (see species) and have some different properties.

No definition.

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms that is active at very low concentrations.

Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins and are capable of causing disease on contact or absorption with body tissues by interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors.

Toxins vary greatly in their severity, ranging from usually minor and acute (as in a bee sting) to almost immediately deadly (as in botulinum toxin).

A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable to grow or reproduce outside a host cell.

Viruses infect cellular life forms and are grouped into animal, plant and bacterial types, according to the type of host infected. Unlike most organisms, viruses do not have cells. However, viruses have genes and evolve by natural selection.

Water activity or aw is a measurement of the energy status of the water in a system.

It is defined as the vapor pressure of water divided by that of pure water at the same temperature; therefore, pure distilled water has a water activity of exactly one.

Yeast are unicellular fungi. Yeasts are characterized by a wide dispersion of natural habitats.

Common on plant leaves and flowers, soil and salt water. Yeasts are also found on the skin surfaces and in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, where they may live symbiotically or as parasites.

The most well-known and commercially significant yeasts utilized to ferment the sugars of rice, wheat, barley, and corn to produce alcoholic beverages and in the baking industry to expand, or raise, dough.

The common "yeast infection" is typically Candidiasis, caused by the yeast-like fungus Candida albicans. In addition to being the causative agent in vaginal yeast infections, Candida is also a cause of diaper rash and thrush of the mouth and throat.