How to Use Biological Principles in Controlling Salmonella

Salmonella is a type of bacteria widely associated with food-borne illnesses. Salmonella can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in humans, ranging from relatively mild to extremely severe and even life-threatening. Salmonella is a relatively hardy organism that can survive for a long periods of time outside of a host organism. Using biological principles in controlling salmonella involves understanding how the bacteria live and reproduce, and then changing their environment to slow and stop their growth.

Things You'll Need

• Bleach
• Thermometer

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Instructions

• 1

  Separate areas where fecal contamination can occur from food preparation areas. Salmonella live in the digestive tract of humans and animals and are transmitted by passing outside of the body in fecal matter which then comes into contact with food, or with parts of the body which can touch the mouth and be inadvertently ingested. Isolate agricultural areas from pastures where animals graze and manure accumulates. Provide adequate hand-washing facilities in restrooms, and educate food workers and people preparing home meals about the importance of proper hand washing.

• 2

  Sanitize food preparation areas that may have come into contact with fecal matter, or with any food that might contain salmonella. Bleach and iodine disinfectants create an inhospitable environment for the salmonella bacteria, killing existing organisms.

• 3

  Preserve foods in highly acidic environments, such as pickling brine. Salmonella survive in an environment with a pH of 4 to 8, so the bacteria will be unable to grow in a solution whose acidity measures a pH of less than 4.

• 4

  Cook foods to an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and chill them to at least 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Salmonella survive at temperatures between 8 degrees Celsius and 45 degrees Celsius, or 46 degrees Fahrenheit and 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping foods substantially colder and hotter than this range will biologically control salmonella bacteria.