THE EVOLVING IMPACT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY ON FOOD MICROBIOLOGY1

ABSTRACT The tools of modern biotechnology are being increasingly adapted by food microbiologists. Genetic probes and monoclonal antibodies have become accepted methods for detecting pathogens and toxins in food. The success of molecular genetic approaches to the problems of traditional fermentations has provided the food safety community with a model for decreased reliance on plate counts and new emphasis on the activity and products of deleterious microorganisms. As the emphasis in all biological sciences becomes increasingly molecular, all microbiologists will come to share the same toolbox‐ a toolbox in which biotechnology comprises only some of the available tools. In the future, these tools may make it possible to genetically engineer resistance to pathogenic microbes into foods.