Microbiology Full Sentences Review

🦠 What is the difference in a microbial pathogen and spoilage bacteria?
A microbial pathogen causes illness but does not necessarily change the appearance or smell of food, while spoilage bacteria cause food to look, smell, and taste bad but typically do not make people sick.

🤒 Describe how microbial infection results in food-borne illness.
Microbial infection results in foodborne illness when a person ingests live bacteria that grow and multiply in the gastrointestinal tract, disrupting normal body functions.

🥤 Describe how microbial intoxication results in food-borne illness.
Microbial intoxication results in foodborne illness when a person consumes toxins that bacteria produced in the food before it was eaten.

💥 Describe how a microbial enterotoxin results in food-borne illness.
A microbial enterotoxin results in foodborne illness when bacteria ingested in food grow in the gut and produce toxins inside the body, which then cause sickness.

👶 Which subsets of the population are most susceptible to food-borne illness?
The populations most susceptible to foodborne illness are infants and young children, elderly adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems such as those undergoing chemotherapy.

Pathogens of concern:
🧴 Staphylococcus aureus: Typically linked to poor handwashing and handling; causes intoxication; symptoms appear within 1–7 hours.
🥪 Listeria monocytogenes: Associated with ready-to-eat deli meats; causes infection; incubation can be 3–70 days; especially dangerous for pregnant women.
🍔 E. coli O157:H7: Commonly associated with undercooked ground beef; produces an enterotoxin; symptoms usually start in 3–8 days; may cause kidney failure in children.
🍗 Salmonella: Found in poultry, pork, and eggs; causes infection; symptoms appear 12–72 hours after consumption.
🥘 Clostridium perfringens: Often associated with improperly held buffet foods; causes enterotoxin illness; symptoms appear in 8–14 hours.
🐓 Campylobacter: Found mostly in poultry; causes infection; symptoms usually appear 2–5 days after exposure.

🔥 How do sterilization, pasteurization, and cooking differ?
Sterilization kills all microorganisms, pasteurization reduces pathogens to safe levels without sterilizing, and cooking heats food to temperatures that kill most pathogens to make it safe for consumption.

🌡 How does ambient temperature affect microbial growth? What is log and lag phase microbial growth? Identify the danger zone for microbial growth.
Higher temperatures increase microbial growth rates, while lower temperatures slow them down. The lag phase is when bacteria are adjusting before multiplying, while the log phase is when they reproduce rapidly. The danger zone for microbial growth is between 40°F and 140°F.

🧾 What is the mode of transmission for a viral foodborne illness & trichina?
Viral foodborne illnesses are transmitted through the fecal-oral route, often via contaminated water or food handled by infected individuals, while Trichina is transmitted through undercooked pork or wild game meat such as bear or boar.

🦪 What is the most likely pathogen culprit if you became sick from eating raw oysters?
The most likely pathogen from eating raw oysters is Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

🥩 List and briefly describe three traits which make meat an ideal medium for microbial growth compared with other perishable foods like vegetables and produce.
Meat is an ideal medium for microbial growth because it has high water content, is rich in protein, and has a near-neutral pH that supports bacterial survival and growth.