Coliforms: occurrence and significance in food

- present on raw foods of plant and animal origin - very high numbers in some plant foods due to contamination with soil - some Enterobacter spp and Klebsiella spp are found in soil where they can multiply and reach high population levels - some found in water/plants - can reach high numbers in food during storage - specificity as an indicator of fecal contamination in raw foods reduced due to non fecal origin of some coliforms and their ability to grow in many foods - coliform presence in heat-processed foods can represent under processing or post-processing contamination