Applied and Environmental Microbiology Flashcards
What is fermentation?
Any desirable change that occurs to a food or beverage as a result of microbial growth
What are composed of known microorganisms that consistently perform specific fermentations that is used in commercial food and beverage production?
Starter cultures
What are adverse changes to a food due to the action of microorganisms?
Spoilage
How are cheeses made?
The acid produced by the bacteria during fermentation curdles the milk
What is the major bacteria of Wisconsin involved in cheese fermenting?
Lactococcus lactis
What are the two categories of food poisoning?
Food infections, food intoxications
Which category of food poisoning entails the consumption of living microorganisms?
Food infections
Which category of food poisoning entails the consumption of microbial toxins rather than the microbe?
Food intoxications
What is the rate of food borne illness in the US?
1/6 Americans per year
What are the primary location and secondary location of where most food borne illness comes from?
1-food service industry, 2-unknown origin
What is the #1 culprit of food borne illness?
Norovirus
What is the second most common cause of food borne illness in the US?
Salmonella spp.
Which two bacterial agents of food borne illness grow at refrigerator temperature?
Listeria monocytogenes, yersinia enterocolitica
What is physical water pollution?
Presence of particulate matter
What is chemical water pollution?
Presence of inorganic or organic compounds
What is biological water pollution?
Too many or non-native microorganisms
Why are waterborne diseases rare in the US?
Water treatment removes most waterborne pathogens
What condition does norovirus cause?
Gastroenteritis
What are the stages for the treatment of drinking water?
1 coagulation and flocculation
2 sedimentation
3 filtration
4 disinfection
What is the term for water that is considered safe enough to drink?
Potable water
Is potable water completely devoid of microorganism and chemicals?
No; the levels are low enough that it is not a health concern
The presence of what substance indicates fecal contamination of food or water?
Coliforms
If coliforms are present, what can that imply?
Increased likelihood that there are disease-causing microbes present
What is the indicator of sanitary (or unsanitary) quality of food and water?
Presence of coliforms
What is the water treated with in stage one of the cleansing process?
Alum - chemical that enables particles in the water to clump together
What is the term for the clumps of heavy material that is grouped by alum in the first stage of the filtering process of drinking water?
Flocs
What occurs in the second step of the filtration of drinking water?
Sedimentation - letting the water sit enables the heavy materials to fall to the bottom
What are the three possibilities for filtration during the third step of the cleansing process of drinking water?
Sand filtration, activated charcoal, membrane filtration
What is the purpose of the filtration step of cleansing our water?
Removal of microbes
Which step of the cleansing process of drinking water involves the deactivation of remaining molecules?
Last step (disinfection)
What are the three things used in the disinfection step of cleansing our drinking water?
Chlorine, ozone, and UV light
What is the primary treatment of waste water?
Sedimentation
What is formed from the first step of the cleansing of waste water?
Sludge
What occurs in the secondary treatment of waste water to the “water”?
Aerated with oxygen to kill bacteria
What is used to disinfect the water during cleansing of waste water during the chemical treatment?
Chlorine
What happens during sludge treatment in the final step of waste water cleansing?
Anaerobic digestion of sludge followed by the methane being trapped and used for fuel
What is the water called that LEAVES your house?
Waste water/sewage
What is the water called that COMES to your house?
Municipal water
What does remediate mean?
To solve a problem
What is bioremediation?
To use biological organisms to solve an environmental problem such as contaminated soil or groundwater
What is bioterrorism?
The use of microbes and/or their toxins to threat or harm the human population
What is agroterrorism?
The use of microbes to terrorize the human population by destroying food supply
When dealing with criteria for assessment of biological threats, what is public health impact?
The ability of hospitals and clinics to handle the casualties
When dealing with criteria for assessment of biological threats, what is delivery potential?
How easily an agent can be introduced into the population
When dealing with criteria for assessment of biological threats, what is public perception?
The effect of public fear on ability to control an outbreak
When dealing with criteria for assessment of biological threats, what is public health preparedness?
Existing response measures
What are the diseases in order of greatest concern for being bioterrorist threats?
Smallpox, anthrax, plague, botulism, tularemia, viral hemorrhagic fevers
Which bio safety level has pathogens that do not cause disease in healthy humans?
Level 1
Which bio safety level deals with the handling of moderately hazardous agents?
Level 2
Which bio safety level involves the handling of microbes in safety cabinets that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease after inhalation?
Level 3
Which bio safety level involves the handling of microbes that cause severe or fatal diseases?
Level 4
What laboratory technique could be used by terrorists to create their own microbes or modify already known biological threats?
Recombination of DNA
What are some positive things that could come from DNA are combination of microbes?
Vaccines, treatments, and pathogen-resistant crops
