Date of Award

Spring 5-1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors College

Department

Biological Science

First Advisor

Bryan A. Lewis

Second Advisor

Roger J. Newman

Third Advisor

Beverly Wade

Abstract

Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle over ninety years ago. This book exposed the failures of the United States meat packing industry which led to major modernization of the meat safety system. The beef and poultry industry make up about 66 percent of the total meat eaten by Americans. Due to many illnesses and deaths in recent years, the United States Department of Agriculture is announcing new measures to reduce harmful bacteria levels in products. Quality control and safety measures to protect consumers have been put in place by I • I the Food and Drug Administration. Consumers are warned of cross contamination and to III cook the meat thoroughly. The meat packers are now required to move pass the inspection of meat based on sight and smell. The meat packers regularly test the meat samples for contamination of E coli and Salmonella. This study analyzes the amount of bacteria found in ground beef as compared to ground turkey at various temperatures. A graphical illustration was used to show the differences between the amounts of microbial growth found in the ground beef as compared to the ground turkey. The statistical results suggest that the ground beef contained more microbial growth than the ground turkey.

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