Food safety is a complex issue that has an impact on all segments
of society, from the general public to government, industry, and
academia. The second edition of the Bad Bug Book, published by
the Center for Food Safety and Applied tion, of the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of and Human
Services, provides current information about the major known
agents that cause foodborne illness. The information provided in
this handbook is abbreviated and general in nature, and is
intended for practical use. It is not intended to be a
comprehensive scientific or clinical reference. Under the laws
administered by FDA, a food is adulterated if it contains (1) a
poisonous or otherwise harmful substance that is not an inherent
natural constituent of the food itself, in an a that poses a
reasonable possibility of injury to , or (2) a substance
that is an inherent natural constituent of the food itself; is
not the result of environmental, agricultural, industrial, or
other contamination; and is present in an a that ordinarily
renders the food injurious to . The first includes, for
example, a toxin produced by a fungus that has contaminated a
food, or a pathogenic bacterium or virus, if the a present
in the food may be injurious to . An example of the second
is the tetrodotoxin that occurs naturally in some organs of some
types of pufferfish and that ordinarily will make the fish
injurious to . In either case, foods adulterated with these
agents are prohibited from being introduced, or offered for
introduction, into interstate commerce. Our scientific
understanding of pathogenic microorganisms and their toxins is
continually advancing. When scientific evidence shows that a
particular microorganism or its toxins can cause foodborne
illness, the FDA may consider that microorganism to be capable of
causing a food to be adulterated. Our knowledge may advance so
rapidly that, in some cases, an organism found to be capable of
adulterating food might not yet be listed in this handbook. In
those situations, the FDA still can take regulatory action
against the adulterated food. The agents described in this book
range from live pathogenic organisms, such as bacteria, protozoa,
worms, and fungi, to non-living entities, such as viruses,
prions, and natural toxins. Included in the chapters are
descriptions of the agents’ characteristics, habitats and food
sources, infective doses, and general disease symptoms and
complications. Also included are examples of outbreaks, if
applicable; the frequency with which the agent causes illness in
the U.S.; and susceptible populations. In addition, the chapters
contain brief overviews of the analytical methods used to detect,
isolate, and/or identify the pathogens or toxins. However, while
some general survival and inactivation characteristics are
included, it is beyond the of this book to provide data,
such as D and z values, that are used to establish processes for
the elimination of pathogenic bacteria and fungi in foods. One
reason is that inactivation parameters for a given organism may
vary somewhat, depending on a number of factors at the time of
measurement. For more information on this topic, readers may wish
to consult other resources. One example is the International
Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods, the
source of a comprehensive book (Microorganisms in Foods 5.
Characteristics of Microbial Pathogens) on the heat resistance (D
and z values) of foodborne pathogens in various food matrices, as
well as data on survival and growth in many foods, including data
on water activity and pH. The Bad Bug Book chapters about
pathogenic bacteria are divided into two main groups, based on
the structure of the microbes’ cell wall: Gram negative and Gram
positive. A few new chapters have been added, reflecting
increased interest in certain microorganisms as foodborne
pathogens or as potential sources of toxins.