Indicator Microorganisms Flashcards
What book exposed the unsanitary condition practices carried out by slaughter houses in the Chicago area?
The Jungle
What act was passed in 1906 by congress?
Food Meat Inspection Act
What did the food meat inspection act establish?
Requirements for the meatpacking industry. The requirements included inspection of livestock before slaughter, mandatory postmortem inspection and sanitary standards for abattoirs.
When did poultry consumption increase?
WWII
What two federal agencies work together to regulate food and prevent foodborne illness?
USDA and FDA
What is guidance principle?
The action provided by a guide leadership and direction
What is guidance documents?
Federal guideline which use language like “should”
True or False. USDA regulates game meet such as venison, ostrich and snake.
True
FDA is responsible for __________ (except meat and poultry) including water.
all food products
Who shares regulations for water?
FDA and EPA
FDA ensures _________, _______ and sanitary.
food is safe, wholesome
Human and __________, biological products and _______ are safe and effective.
Veterinary drugs; medical devices
FDA ensures _______________ that emit radiation are safe.
Electronic products
True or False. The FDA ensures products are honestly, accurately, and informatively represented.
True
Who issues a recall?
FDA
Foodborne Disease Outbreak
Two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from ingestion of a common food.
What are two exceptions of the outbreak rule?
- Intoxication from chemical and marine toxin
- One case of botulinum caused by C. botulinum
What relies on reporting of foodborne diseases by clinical laboratories to state health departments?
Passive Surveillance
What does FoodNet provide?
A foundation for food safety policy and prevention efforts. It estimates the number of foodborne illnesses, monitor trends in incidence of specific foodborne illness, attributes illness to specific foods and settings.
Public health officials frequently contact laboratory directors to find new cases of foodborne diseases.
Active Surveillance
What estimates the number of foodborne illness?
FoodNet
What monitor trends in incidence of specific foodborne illnesses over time?
FoodNet
What attributes illnesses to specific foods and settings?
FoodNet
What is the 4th objective of FoodNet?
Disseminate information
What is an example of active surveillance?
FoodNet
When an outbreak occurs what are the main aspects of investigation?
Epidemiological, laboratory, and environmental
True or False. Outbreak investigations can be complex and may take months
True
What is food safety?
The absence or presence of microorganism or toxin in the food, effective processing methods for their control, destruction and elimination
What is food quality?
Wholesomeness of food, presence of spoilage organisms.
Who established microbiological criteria?
FAO, WHO, ICMSF, NAS, and NACMCF
What contains standards for all principle foods processed, semi-processed, or raw forms in which they are delivered to the consumer?
Codex Alimentarius
Who provides the framework for ensuring fair trade and harmonized standards and import requirements for food trade through the agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers?
World Trade Organization
What does microbiological criteria answer and access?
- Safety of the food
- GMP
- Keeping Quality
- Suitability of ingredient for a product
What is an index organism?
A microorganism or group of microorganisms that is indicative of a specific pathogen
What is an indicator organism?
Microorganism or group of microorganisms that are indicative that a food has been exposed to conditions that pose an increased risk that the food may be contaminated with a pathogen or held under conditions conductive for pathogen growth
What points to the occurrence of a related pathogen?
Points to the occurrence of a related pathogen
What positive test does NOT necessarily indicate the presence of pathogen?
Indicator organism
A _______ can function both as an index and an indicator organism
marker
What is a lot?
A quantity of product produced, handled, and stored
What does a sampling plan consist of?
Sampling procedure and decision criteria
What does the sampling procedure contain?
Microbiological criteria
What are the two types of microbiological criteria?
Mandatory and advisory criteria
What is the purpose of advisory criteria?
alert the deficiencies in processing
What does the sampling procedure consist of?
Determine the number and size of sample units to draw analytical results
True or False. It is impractical to examine the entire lot.
True
What is used when the target organism is uniformly distributed in the food and the numbers can be converted into a Log value?
Variable Plan
What is used when target organism is not homogeneously distributed. Used for pathogenic bacteria present in low number.
Attribute sampling
What represents a level of microorganism above which action is required?
Microbiological Criteria
What are preferred qualities of ideal indicators?
Microbial metabolites present initially before or after growth.
Easily detectable, quantifiable, and distinguishable
What are examples of proposed or adopted indicator organisms?
Enterobacteriaceae
Enterococci
Bifidobacterium
Coliphages
What is the problem with Enterobacteriaceae?
Not confined to the intestinal tract
What is defined by phenotype not genotype?
Coliforms
Concentrations may be very low and difficult to _______.
relate
Presence may not relate to another ___________.
Pathogen
What are advantages pathogens of indicator organisms?
Easily and rapidly detectable
Easily distinguishable
Association with another pathogen
Present concurrently with another pathogen
Numbers correlate with another pathogen
Growth requirements/rate equal to another pathogen
Die off rate parallels other pathogen
Common source with other pathogen
What is intended to effectuate decrease in pathogen with goal to improve public health?
Performance standards
What is a surrogate?
Microorganisms or representative material that serves as an alternate for target pathogen in evaluating control
What is the criteria for a surrogate?
Non-pathogenic
Durable
Stable
What is used to access both microbial quality as well as microbial safety of the food?
indicator organisms
Those that assess numbers of microorganisms and/or ________________.
microbial activity
Indicators of potential _______________________ or possible presence of pathogens.
human or fecal contamination
____________ of pathogens that indicate a health hazard.
metabolic products
What bacteria indicates fecal contamination and the potential presence of pathogens associated with wastewater or sewage sludge.
fecal coliform
DMC measures _________________ and is used for samples with high microbial loads
viable and non-viable cells
What is DMC used for?
Raw non-grade A milk, dried milk, frozen eggs
What is common on foods and fruits where bacteria is hard to grow?
Yeast mold count
What can survive thermal processing of fruit?
Heat resistant mold
What can cause food defect in product stored at elevated temperatures?
Thermophilic-spore
What can be used to estimate microbial count?
Metabolic products
