The Food Microbiology Short course provides insight into the most recent developments of food-borne pathogens, toxins, and contaminants that may occur in a food plant environment. The short course is delivered in classroom and laboratory environments and includes a mixture of theory, demonstrations, and practical sessions on the fundamentals of food microbiology and food safety. Attendees can develop a detailed understanding of the methods used to isolate important spoilage microorganisms and food-borne pathogens and the role of food microbiologist in ensuring safe food products. The program provides a basic understanding of the ecology of microorganisms in foods, detection, enumeration, isolation, and identification of pathogens and/or their toxins such as E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, spoilage and mycotoxigneic fungi, and mycotoxins.