Investigating Bacteria Growth on the Thawing of Meat

LITERATURE REVIEW: INVESTIGATING BACTERIAL GROWTH IN THE THAWING OF MEAT:

What are bacteria?

Mostly we think of bacteria as germs but bacteria are microorganisms, which are tiny little living beings - which are not plants or animals. They have a classification group all by themselves. Bacteria falls under the group called Prokaryotes. They consist of a single-cell. They are so small and tiny that you would have to look through a microscope to see them. Bacteria are everywhere they are in the bread you eat, the soil that plants grow in, and even inside of you. They are amazing creatures some can live above boiling point and others in freezing temperatures.

Bacteria can make us very sick, but it can also help us by making vitamins and breaking down garbage. Bacteria can make their own food from sunlight just like plants. They absorb food from the material or food they live on. They live everywhere, including humans, animals and plants. This is where they produce oxygen.

Types of bacteria found in meat:

• E. Coli is the bacteria that live in the intestines of animals. Most types of these bacteria are harmless provided that it is not very high levels. There are some types that can make you sick.

• Salmonella is one of the most common causes of food poisoning.

• Listeria is the bacteria found in poultry and cattle meat. It is unlike any other germ because it can grow in the refrigerator.

Methods of thawing commonly used:

Leaving in the refrigerator: it is one of the easiest methods to defrost meat, you just have to put it into the fridge and wait for it to defrost. But it is the longest method to defrost the food. It could take up to 24hrs to finish defrosting.

Advantages: - It is the best way t...

... middle of paper ...

... in which they defrost food. But no one actually knows which way is better to defrost their meat, by better we mean healthier and safer. So although meat is tested long the way, consumers are not very aware of bacterial loads in food.

So to see which way is actually better to defrost the meat, we decided to conduct a test that will show the different growth rates of bacteria in the different thawing methods to defrost meat. To do our test we are going to do the test with using chicken, which is a very widely consumed in South Africa. This is different because all the other tests that we have researched have been done to beef. So that also raises another question does the bacteria grow differently in different types of meat. In the end of our project we hope that we will be able to show people which method of defrosting their chicken is the safest and healthiest way.