The UW-Madison Food Research Institute will hold a meeting in its Food Safety Series entitled “Microbial Food Spoilage — Losses and Control Strategies” on June 12 at the Pyle Center.

The U.S. food supply is the most varied, abundant and economical in the world. At the same time, we sustain huge economical losses due to food spoilage. Certain microorganisms cause deterioration of food quality by altering the sensory characteristics of foods and decreasing the length of time a food is considered suitable for sale and consumption, that is, shelf life. The growth, survival, and death of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms in foods are functions of the food (for example, water activity and pH) and also the environmental conditions under which the food is held, such as temperature, relative humidity, and the presence or absence of oxygen.