Fungi and Food Spoilage

The first three editions of Fungi and Food Spoilage established, then consolidated, a reputation as the leading book on foodborne fungi.  It details media and methods for isolation and identification, descriptions of species, and information on their physiology, ecology and mycotoxin formation.  It is an invaluable reference for food microbiologists investigating fungal food spoilage problems, both in field crops and processed foods, and the likelihood of mycotoxin production in either.The major part of the book provides keys, descriptions and illustrations of all yeasts and filamentous fungi commonly encountered in foods.  Other known characteristics of the species, including physiology and ecology are included.  Chapters on the types and species of fungi likely to be found in fresh, harvested and variously processed foods are followed by a new chapter on mycotoxins, both major and minor, their sources, both fungal and food, and their implications for human health.

•           Dr John I. Pitt was employed by CSIRO Food (under various names) from 1954 to 2018, commencing as a Technical Assistant, rising to Chief Research Scientist n 1992 and then, after official retirement in 2002, continuing to work as an Honorary Fellow. His prime interest was fungi in foods, where he contributed in three areas: media and methods in food mycology; species of foodborne fungi, their sources, physiological properties and ecology; and their production of mycotoxins. He was elected to Fellowship of the International Mycological Association, and Life Membership the Mycological Society of America, the British Mycological Society and the Australian Society for Microbiology. He is currently employed (part time) by Microbial Screening Technologies, a biodiscovery company.