Microbiological analysis of food is critical in monitoring food safety and quality,  assessing compliance with regulatory standards, and epidemiological investigations. The rapid and precise detection of spoilage organisms and pathogens is necessary for monitoring and assuring quality, shelf life and safety of foods. Thus, interest in rapid methods and automation in food microbiology has never been greater. Rapid and automated methods include improved and augmented culture-based methods, electrochemical methods, immunological detection, molecular methods including methods based on nucleic-acid amplification, and genomic- analysis. This symposium is designed to discuss developments, trends and challenges in rapid methods and automation in food microbiology.