Bacterial Enumeration of Various Meat Products

    Should the thought of catching the virus E. coli make Jimmy jump for joy? No it shouldn’t, which is why we should all pay more attention to our meat industry. Robert Kenner analyzes the food industry, and all of its components. Kenner shows the nation where our food comes from, and how it is produced.

However, most experts say that overall meat is safer now than it's ever been. There is still a risk, though. For example, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, almost half of our meat and poultry contain Staphylococcus aureus, a type of bacteria that can cause serious infections as well as death (Andrew E. Waters). Here's what Lance B. Price, Ph.D., senior author of the study said about the bacteria, “We know that nearly half of our food supply's meat and poultry are contaminated with S. aureus, and more than half of those are multidrug resistant.” However, he goes on to say, “What we don't know [is] how often these transfer to people. We need more studies to quantify the public health impact (Gardner).” Furthermore, Pascal James Imperato, M.D., dean of the School of Public Health at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY said, “Numerous studies of this type done in other countries...have generally come up with the same findings, that multidrug-resistant S. aureus are present in a variety of animal meats.” "But, so far, no one has been able to draw a connection between the presence of those bacteria in meats and human illness (Gardner)." So, as one can see, even though S. aureus is

Western diet and culture are responsible for the increase of global meat consumption, over the last few decades. This is why the global trend of moving “towards concentrated animal feeding operations is expected

The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was an attempt to regulate the meatpacking industry and to assure consumers that the meat they were eating was safe. In brief, this act made compulsory the careful inspection of meat before its consummation, established sanitary standards for slaughterhouses and processing plants, and required continuous U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection of meat processing and packaging. Yet, the most important objectives set by the law are the prevention of adulterated or misbranded livestock and products from being commercialized and sold as food, and the making sure that meat and all its products are processed and prepared in the adequate sanitary and hygienic conditions (Reeves 35). Imported meat and its various

The purpose of the following study is to determine where the two unknown bacteria acquired in Microbiology lab should be classified in regards to temperature, pH level, and osmoregularity. It is important to classify bacteria in order to identify them. Identification of bacteria is important because they are not only useful but potentially dangerous as well. The identification of bacteria can lead to breakthroughs in healthcare regarding treatment of old and new diseases alike. Identifying bacteria can also be used in many other areas from better crop production through microbial pesticides to biological warfare. Their uses are endless as are their abilities to evolve and adapt to changing environments. That is why it is so important

Factory farming is the industrial production of raising animals such as cattle, poultry, swine, and sheep for meat. Many questions and concerns within the field are based on animal treatment and the cleanliness of the factory farm facilities. These questions and concerns are needed to guarantee the safety of both the animals and consumers. The unhealthy living environments combined with excessive antibiotic use in factory farms causes concern in the meat processing industry.

Presently, speculations have risen about the amount of antibiotics used in the livestock industry and the desire to consume antibiotic-free meats. What is not understood, however, is the USDA has been monitoring the amount of antimicrobial residue in meats for several years. If unsafe levels are detected the meat is not allowed to be sold for human consumption. Yet, fast food chains such as Subway and Chipotle are claiming to go completely antibiotic free within the next decade. The practicality of this becoming a reality is slim due to the need to control, treat, and prevent diseases. To truly understand the importance of the antibiotic usage in cattle it must first be understood what antibiotics are and the reasons they are used. Additionally, the use of vaccinations should be taken into account for the

Lab Day 1: After receiving my unknown bacteria, I streaked a TSA plate and incubated at 37°C for 48 hours. I then picked a single colony from the plate with my sterile loop and streaked a TSA slant and labeled it “Working Stock”. I did the same with another TSA slant and label the second one “Back-up Stock”. This would be the samples I used to complete the following procedures through the next four weeks to determine my unknown bacteria.

Have you asked yourself yet, who regulates meat products? The USDA does. This government agency ensures that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled and packaged to consumer and buyers. The Department of Health and Human Services and The Environmental Protection agency are two reputable government agencies that coordinate with the USDA to ensure food and medical safety is regulated lawfully. Every four years, there is an important “food code” that is revised by U.S. Food and Drug Administration that affects all levels of government agencies. The food code is used as a model to develop and update food safety rules that require consistency with national food regulatory policies. Businesses and industries controlled and regulated by the food code are retail, food service, and medical institutions such as

Health and the CDC linked bacteria from Topps' frozen ground beef patties to an outbreak of the

There are many areas things can go wrong in the process of raising, slaughtering, and packaging the beef for human consumption. Especially so in slaughterhouses and processing plants, as there are many potential contamination hazards, and most depend on human attention to catch and correct. The cattle may arrive at the slaughterhouse with feces on their hides, which present the first risk of contamination as it can be very difficult to remove the hides from the animal without transferring any of the pathogen bearing feces to the carcass. The second high-risk area in the slaughterhouse is the gutting station, where at some locations, workers are expected to keep up an extremely fast pace, as many as sixty cattle per hour, which does not provide adequate time to prevent accidents. A ruptured gut sac can leave a carcass intended for human consumption covered in fecal matter or stomach acids all potentially containing the potentially deadly foodborne bacteria (Schlosser 203). At these slaughterhouses, steps are taken to clean and disinfect the carcasses, but E. coli is hard to kill. It is encouraged by the Agricultural Department to begin testing at these locations for E. coli, but most choose not to, as they stand to suffer significant monetary damage if they discover any E. coli present in their products (Moss 3). Most slaughterhouses will not sell their products to processing plants that plan to pre-screen the meat before combining and

If the government were to get more involved in the meatpacking industry, the United States of America would have less outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.  The problem with E.coli, along with other foodborne illnesses start inside of the feedlots.  At this point, there are at least 250 known foodborne illnesses, which are mainly infections that are caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites in the meat.  In America, each state gets to decide for themselves, which diseases they have the public health department look for in their food.  Instead, the government should be checking for all possible diseases in the food throughout the country.  Due to the lack of inspections, Eric Schlosser states that "{e}very day in the United States, roughly

Australia food history is dynamic, urban, industrial, science-based and capitalist-driven. The food produced is of high quality. One of the reasons behind this is that all livestock are free of all major livestock diseases. The Australian meat and livestock industry has had a long term commitment to food safety, product integrity and traceability, and its product quality complements Australia’s focus on responsibility in meeting the demands of its international customers.

Therefore, microbiological level of E. coli and S. aureus in this food sample is within but at the borderline of the limits of acceptable quality. This shows that the food sample is on upper limit of acceptable range which is both not unsatisfactory and satisfactory. The food can still be consumed may still have certain risk of causing

Every year, at least 40 million people get sick from eating meat that has been improperly handled. One way to lower the risk of becoming ill, is by properly thawing meat before it is cooked. This science fair project used four methods of thawing meat to test which method would limit the likelihood of bacteria growth the most. Using three types of meat: beef, pork and chicken, each meat was thawed in the refrigerator, at room temperature, in water at room temperature, and using a microwave. After each method of thawing, the meat was tested for the presence of bacteria. The testing involved swiping the meat with a sterilized swab then wiping the swab onto an agar Petri dish, a gelatin substance used to grow bacteria. The agar Petri dishes were