Microbial Contamination and Food Degradation, Volume 10 in the Handbook of Food Bioengineering series, provides an understanding of the most common microbial agents involved in food contamination and spoilage, and highlights the main detection techniques to help pinpoint the cause of contamination. Microorganisms may cause health-threatening conditions directly by being ingested together with contaminated food, or indirectly by producing harmful toxins and factors that can cause food borne illness. This resource discusses the potential sources of contamination, the latest advances in contamination research and strategies to prevent contamination using key methods of analysis and evaluation.