EN
Studies on the effects of environmental factors and technological processes on the behavior of microorganisms in food have been conducted for many years. Mathematical models have come to be used extensively for quantitative interpretation of the results of these studies. The use of modeling in food microbiology has grown to the point of being recognized as a distinct discipline of food microbiology, termed predictive microbiology. In recent years, progress in this field has been impressive, and predictive microbiology is increasingly used by food producers and food inspectors in their routine work. One of the reasons for this development are changes in European food law, particularly the obligatory introduction of HACCP, risk analysis and microbiological criteria for food. Predictive microbiology has been an important supporting tool in food chain risk management.