Bacterial contamination during chocolate processing

Chocolate is the solid or semi-solid food prepared by finely grinding cocoa. It must have a minimum of 50% fat.

During fermentation process many types of contamination may occur during this primary part of manufacture of chocolate. At the peak of fermentation the temperature builds up, which promotes the growth of bacteria and molds.

The raw fermented cocoa beans arriving in the factory have very high bacterial counts and during the cleaning, roasting and winnowing process, dust is produced that can contaminate finished products.

In the process of converting the press cake to powder, there is ample opportunity for it to become reinfected and further cross-infection can occur in the user’s factory. Another way in which the bacteria count can be increased is through the flavor addition.

Sanitation is a major problem, especially since many chocolate products are finished by hand-dipping; employee sanitation practices are, therefore, very important to prevent product contamination. These products are generally consumed by children, who are highly susceptible to enteric infections.

In chocolate factories, water plays an important role in maintaining the temperature of liquid chocolate masses in pipes and storage tanks as well as for tempering and cooling. Microleaks may lead to contamination of the product and it is therefore necessary to guarantee the absence of Salmonella by appropriate disinfection methods.

Recontamination from the processing environment is a further possibility and control can be achieved by an adequate layout of production lines allowing the physical separation of unclean, potentially contaminated zones from clean zones where roasted beans are further processed.
Bacterial contamination during chocolate processing 

Food Spoilage and Biological Factors

Food Spoilage and Biological Factors
Processed and natural foods are composed mainly of carbohydrates proteins and fats.

The major constituents in vegetables and fruits are carbohydrates, including sugars (sucrose, etc), polymers of sugars (starch) and other complex carbohydrates such as fibers.

Fats are the major components of milk and most cheeses, and proteins are the chief constituents of muscle foods.

Under natural storage conditions, foods start to deteriorate once the living cells in the foods (plant and animal origins) are dead.

Either when the cells are dead or if the tissues are damaged, deterioration begins with the secretion of internal proteases (such as chymotrypsin and trypsin to break up proteins at specific amino acid positions), lipases and lyases from lyzosomes to disintegrate the cells, to hydrolyze proteins into amino acids and starch into simpler sugars (or monosaccharides), and to de-esterificate fats ( triglycerides) into fatty acids.

The exposure of foods and damaged cells to the environment attracts microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, molds and virus) and insects, which in turn further accelerate the decomposition of the food.

For most food poisoning, spoilage has not reached the stage where the sensory attributes (appearance, smell, taste, texture, etc.) of the food are abnormal.

Illness form food can be mainly classified as:

• 1.Food borne infection caused by pathogenic bacteria (disease-causing microorganisms, such as Salmonella bacteria, multiplying in victim’s digestive tract causing diarrhea, vomiting and fever, etc.)
  
• 2. Food borne intoxication (food poisoning resulting from toxin produced by pathogenic microorganisms, e.g. Clostridium botulinum and Staphylococcus aureus, in the digestive tract).
  

Food borne illness also has a major economic impact on society, costing billions of dollars each year in the form of medical bills, lost work time, and reduced productivity.
Food Spoilage and Biological Factors