Application of mathematical modeling and predictive microbiology in food science

The increasing incidence of food borne outbreaks resulting in social and economic losses still provokes the need to search for novel strategies in order to prevent food contamination. During the recent decades, there has been a dramatic enhancement in research on the development of mathematical models in predictive microbiology. Growth predictive modeling has been so widespread that it is now one of the most rapidly advancing fields of study, which gives the ability to estimate the microbial growth in a swift and cost-effective way.The concept of this research field is that a detailed knowledge of the behavior (survival, growth, inactivation) of microorganisms in food products, transformed into mathematical models, enables the estimation of the microbiological safety and quality of foods.