Food microbiology is the study of microorganisms that colonize, modify, and process, or contaminate and spoil food. It is one of the most diverse research areas within microbiology. It encompasses a wide variety of microorganisms including spoilage, probiotic, fermentative, and pathogenic bacteria, moulds, yeasts, viruses, prions, and parasites.

It deals with foods and beverages of diverse composition, combining a broad spectrum of environmental factors that may influence microbial survival and growth.

Food Microbiology includes microorganisms that have both beneficial and deleterious effects on food quality and safety and may therefore be of concern to public health.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collate both original research articles that focus on all aspects of food microbiology, as well as review articles that discuss the current state of the art.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Physiology, genetics, biochemistry, and behavior of microorganisms that are either used to make foods or that may represent safety or quality issues
• Effect of preservatives, processes, and packaging systems on food microbiology
• Methods for detection, identification, and enumeration of foodborne microorganisms or microbial toxins
• Microbiology of food fermentations
• Microbial ecology of foods
• Microbiological aspects of food safety
• Microbiological aspects of food spoilage and quality
• Predictive microbiology