FST 104 Winter 2008 Midterm #2 (March 5, 2008)

Name______________________________ Student ID #________________________

PLEASE RECORD YOUR TEST VERSION LETTER (shown on page 5 of the exam) and the correct answers to questions 1-28 on a blue Scantron form UCD 2000 using a #2 pencil. (If you did not bring the Scantron form, circle the letter of the correct answer directly on the exam pages. We will grade your exam by hand and assess a penalty of ten points.) Please write your answers for questions 29-32 directly on the exam in the space provided. MICROBIAL CHARACTERISTICS. For questions 1-4, chose the correct letter of the group of microorganisms from the list given immediate below. A letter may be used more than once. [3
A. Molds B. Lactic Acid Bacteria C. Endospore-forming Bacteria D. Enteric Family & Relatives E. Pseudomonas & Relatives

points each]

1. 2. 3. 4.

Members of this group can spoil food handled under unsanitary conditions. D Almost all members of this group possess peroxidase and superoxide dismutase but none possess catalase. Some members of this group produce cellulases. A Members of this group are normal flora of all plants and animals and are commonly found in large numbers on their exterior surfaces, even in the absence of handling. B

MULTIPLE CHOICE [3 points each] 5. Which of the following would usually be considered a thermophile?
A B C D E Campylobacter jejuni Pseudomonas fluorescens Bacillus coagulans Staphylococcus aureus Clostridium botulinum

6.

Lowering the redox potential in food would be most effective in preventing growth for which of the following microbes?
A B C D E Lactic acid bacteria Desulfotomaculum nigrificans Listeria monocytogenes E. coli O157:H7 All molds

7.

Which of the following is a false statement regarding Intermediate Moisture Foods (IMF):
A B C D E IMF foods have an aw in the range of 0.60 to 0.85 No pathogen or spoilage organism can grow in IMF IMF can be made by blending traditional ingredients such as chocolate or honey Use of humectants such as glycerol or sorbitol in IMF bind water without giving the sensation of dryness No other treatment to IMF is needed to prevent the growth of dangerous anaerobes such as C. botulinum

8.

Which of the following is a false statement about food spoilage?

A B C D E Food spoilage occurs when microbes are present at a certain level, even if they havent grown Food spoilage occurs not just because microbes are present but because they have grown The initial level of contamination is an important contributor to the time it takes for spoilage to appear Food that is "too clean" might allow pathogen growth before the food is rejected on sensory grounds In the United States microbial growth causes more spoilage than does infestation by rodents and insects.

9.

A company decides to add 0.12 g of sorbic acid per 100 grams of a soft drink with a pH = 5. Which group would not usually be inhibited by this amount of sorbic acid?
Yeasts Molds Enterobacteriaceae Spore-forming bacteria All of the above groups would be inhibited

A B C D E

10.

Given the mixture of microbes commonly found in raw ground beef, which of the listed groups would be the most likely spoilage agent for this raw ground beef, refrigerated at 7 C in an O2-permeable wrapper?
composition = 0.4% soluble sugars, 15% protein, 20% fat aw = 0.98 A Pseudomonas & relatives B Enteric Family & relatives C Endospore-forming bacteria D Lactic acid bacteria E Molds pH = 6.5 redox = +200 mV

11.

Assume that the ground beef in question 10 indeed becomes spoiled. If it is made into patties, properly cooked to an internal temperature of 71 C (165 F) and then consumed immediately, which of the following is likely to be a food safety threat?
A Listeria monocytogenes B E. coli O157:H7 C Clostridium botulinum D Pseudomonas fluorescens E None of the listed organisms is likely to be a food safety threat under the conditions described

12.

Given the mixture of microbes commonly found on fruit, which of the listed groups would be the most likely spoilage agent for fresh apple juice that has turned alcoholic and fizzy (with gas bubbles) after several days in a sealed container at 15 C?
composition = 2% soluble sugars, 0.5% protein, 0.2% fat aw = 0.98 A Enteric Family & relatives B Endospore-forming bacteria C Lactic acid bacteria D Yeasts E Molds pH = 2.9 redox = -200 mV

13.

Which oxygen protective enzymes does E. coli possess?

A Has both catalase and superoxide dismutase B Has both peroxidase and superoxide dismutase C Has catalase but no superoxide dismutase D Has peroxidase and uses Mn++ in non-enzymatic reactions to remove the superoxide radical E Has no apparent oxygen protective enzymes

14.

Which of the following is a true statement?

A B C D E Pasteurization is almost always a treatment for 30 minutes at 146 F Pasteurization is a process designed to destroy the most heat-resistant spoilage organism in all foods Commercial sterilization is a process designed to destroy all the microbes in a given food Commercial sterilization is a process designed to destroy the most heat-resistant enzyme in the food Commercial sterilization is actually a pasteurization with the C. botulinum endospore as the target

15.

Pectinolytic spoilage organism that can cause "soft rot" of vegetables but not acidic fruit.
A B C D E Aspergillus flavus Pseudomonas fragi Erwinia species Listeria monocytogenes Bacillus stearothermophilus

16.

What is the widest redox range over which facultative anaerobes can grow?
A Between -400 and -50 mV B Between -250 and +50 mV C Between +100 and +400 mV D Between -400 and +400 mV E Above 400 mV

17. Attached is plot of data for growth of a microorganism. Based on this data, what is the growth rate of this microorganism? [3 points]
A 1.0 h B 1.2 h C 0.22 h-1 D 0.58 h-1 E 0.69 h-1

18.

Ground chicken in an O2-permeable wrapper became spoiled after 72 hours at 10 C. Assuming that 10 C is above Tmin and that 30 C is below Topt, how long would it have taken the chicken to exhibit the same level of spoilage at 30 C? (Assume Q10 = 2).
A B C D E 9 hours 18 hours 36 hours 144 hours 288 hours

19.

Which of the following would increase the pH of food (make it more basic)?
A B C D E Growth of E. coli on sugars in the absence of O2 Growth of Aspergillus flavus on organic acids in the presence of O2 Growth of Pseudomonas fluorescens on protein in the absence of O2 but in the presence of NO3 A and B B and C

20.

For a bacterium with only an aerobic mode of energy metabolism, which of the following treatments would stop bacterial growth and increase survival?
A B C D E Exposure to ozone Exposure to temperature above the maximum for growth Exposure to temperature below the minimum for growth Exposure to pH below the minimum for growth C and D

21.

If your goal was to inhibit the growth of Clostridium botulinum in a canned ham, which of the following would be the most effective treatment?
A Ensure that the redox of the canned ham was lowered to -200 mV B Treat the canned ham with SO2 (sulfur dioxide a sulfiting agent) C Treat the canned ham with chlorine D Treat the canned ham with Natamycin E Treat the canned ham with NO3 (nitrate)

22.

One conclusion for the experiment we discussed in class (heat-treated Staphylococcus aureus) was that injured microorganisms in food:
A B C D E may not grow on selective media unless allowed time to recover may not grow on non-selective media unless allowed time to recover are not a major concern because they are effectively dead will cause bacterial counts on selective media to be falsely high actually survive better above Tmax than uninjured organisms

23.

Bacteria can protect themselves from the damage caused by H2O2 with:
A catalase B peroxidase C superoxide dismutase D Either A or B E Either B or C

24.

pH below which a food is considered acidic for the purposes of determining the heat treatment necessary in canning.
A 1.5 B 3.0 C 3.7 D 4.5 E 5.5

25.

With regard to the type of energy generating metabolism, what is the food science definition of an aerobe that we gave in class?
A B C D E Performs aerobic respiration; may also perform anaerobic respiration Performs only anaerobic respiration Performs aerobic respiration and fermentation Performs only fermentation None of the above are correct

26.

Which of the following does not contribute to the ability of a microbe (or particle) to withstand high temperatures?
A B C D E A higher proportion of unsaturated lipids in the cell membrane of a bacterium A higher proportion of saturated lipids in the cell membrane of a bacterium The most heat sensitive enzyme required under the given conditions of growth The degree of protection of cell lipids by structures outside of the membrane The absence of an envelope in naked viruses

27.

Modified atmosphere packaging helps to preserve food by:

A Inhibiting the growth of dangerous anaerobes present in the food B Killing the spoilage aerobes present in the food C Increasing the poising capacity of the food to withstand changes in pH caused by microbial growth D Lowering the redox potential of the food E Raising the redox potential of the food

28.

Which of the following is a false statement?

A The concern with using NO3 or NO2 (nitrate or nitrite) as food preservatives is the formation of nitrosamines, a suspected carcinogen, upon cooking the food B Use of NO3 or NO2 can promote a color in cured meats that is often pleasing to consumers C Bacteria can acquire antibiotic resistance from other bacteria by plasmid transfer D Antibiotics used in animal feed can promote animal growth and prevent disease, but at the risk of selecting for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and causing an allergic response in some people E All are true statements

For questions 29 and 30, fill in the blank with both the genus and species of the correct organism. Here pathogen refers to ability to cause food-borne human illness [2 points each]. 29. _Staphylococcus aureus_____ 30. _Yersinia enterocolitica_or__ Listeria monocytogenes This bacterial pathogen is the last to stop growing as aw is decreased from 0.99 to 0.5. This bacterial pathogen is the last to stop growing as temperature is decreased from +30 C to -20 C (2 possible answers).

31. Given below are hypothetical survival data obtained for a new species of Salmonella heated at 70C. Determine the D value using the semi log paper.
Time held (minutes) 2 4 6 8 Number of Survivors 8.0 x 105 1.3 x 105 2.8 x 104 4.0 x 103

D70 C = about 2.6 minutes (from graph)

32. You have discovered a new pathogen in milk. Given the following D values obtained from your new pathogen, determine the Z value using the semi-log graph paper. Indicate Z value in correct units :
Temperature 50C 60C 70C 80C D-value 50 14 3.5 0.9 Z value = 17.2

33. The legal pasteurization for milk is 30 minutes at 63 C. If you know that you will never need more than 5 logs of your hypothetical new pathogen, is the current legal pasteurization sufficient for safety? F = D x #logs F = D63C x #logs F = 8.7 minutes (from graph) x 5 F = 43.5 minutes

Test Version: A