Noah Webster wrote a dictionary, Peter Mark Roget assembled a thesaurus and John Bartlett compiled his book of quotations. Now a Cornell professor has edited his own desk reference for the ages.
Carl Batt, professor of food science, together with British researchers, has edited the definitive Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, a 2,500-page compendium that embraces everything from aerobic metabolism to Zygosaccharomyces.
"It's the first really comprehensive review of food microbiology," said Batt. "The publisher wanted to put together the world's breadth of information on food microbiology, and they were trolling around, looking for someone dumb enough to do it. They found me."
After two years of compiling everything you ever wanted to know about molds, bacteria, food fungi, seafood spoilage, cheese making and how to make hard cider, Batt and his colleagues ended up with a three-volume set that, probably, no food company or university will be able to do without.
About 350 articles describe, in detail, the beneficial activities of bacteria and fungi in the food industry, the industrial aspects of microbiology, the microbiology of specific commodities and classical methods for the enumeration of bacteria and fungi. The encyclopedia has extensive articles on the fermentation of beverages, food safety and making ice cream and cheese.
Several chapters are devoted to pathogens such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The encyclopedia relates a history of Salmonella, the group of organisms named in honor of 19th century Cornell veterinary pathologist D.E. Salmon, who isolated an organism from pigs suffering from hog cholera. The Salmonella bacteria are described in great detail, and a table of the major food-borne outbreaks of Salmonella since the 1950s is included.
Focusing on solutions, the encyclopedia explores hazard analysis and critical control points, better known as HACCP (pronounced HAY-sip), the recommended way for food companies and restaurateurs to keep commercial food-processing or meal-preparation areas clean and safe. A chapter is devoted to the history and concept of HACCP, explaining the system's seven principles, known as the Codex Alimentarius.
The encyclopedia is edited by Batt; Richard K. Robinson, a food scientist at the University of Reading, England; and Pradip Patel of the Rapid Methods Section, Leatherhead Food RA, England.
It is published by Academic Press, a subsidiary of Harcourt Brace & Co., (Set ISBN: 0-12-227070-3). The list price is $925/£570, but there is an introductory price of $799/£495.
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