GREAT INFO

Hello! I found this GREAT site about moulds.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Molds_On_Food/index.asp

I need a lot of information about moulds, as it is one of my variables of my experiment.

What Are Molds?


Molds are microscopic fungi that live on plant or animal matter. No one knows how many species of fungi exist, but estimates range from tens of thousands to perhaps 300,000 or more. Most are filamentous (threadlike) organisms and the production of spores is characteristic of fungi in general. These spores can be transported by air, water, or insects.
Unlike bacteria that are one-celled, molds are made of many cells and can sometimes be seen with the naked eye. Under a microscope, they look like skinny mushrooms. In many molds, the body consists of:

• root threads that invade the food it lives on,

• a stalk rising above the food, and

• spores that form at the ends of the stalks.



The spores give mold the color you see. When airborne, the spores spread the mold from place to place like dandelion seeds blowing across a meadow.



Molds have branches and roots that are like very thin threads. The roots may be difficult to see when the mold is growing on food and may be very deep in the food. Foods that are moldy may also have invisible bacteria growing along with the mold. What Are Mycotoxins?

Mycotoxins are poisonous substances produced by certain molds found primarily in grain and nut crops, but are also known to be on celery, grape juice, apples, and other produce. There are many of them and scientists are continually discovering new ones. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that 25% of the world's food crops are affected by mycotoxins, of which the most notorious are.

And I thought about my risk assesment:

RISK:Cooked leftover meat and poultry
ASSESS:Discard Foods
REASON:with high moisture content can be contaminated below the surface. Moldy foods may also have bacteria growing along with the mold.

I've got others, but that's just my first one =)

I also searched about the composition, of cling wraps, foil wraps. I found out why some preserve better than others. This will be present in my discussion.

FINISHED

I have finished my experiment and repeated it 3 times already. So far mye eperiment is succesful, there were green, white, grey moulds that have formed on the sausages (pictures will be posted later).

And I am aware that the colorus of mould may not always tell us ''which one is more unfresh''. So, I've also flipped the meat, and smelt it. I have derived a odour table that I will use (a smell chart from 1-5). Also, I have touched the meat, I'll describe whether its hard/ or slimy.

Continued...

Okay. Here is kind of an extension to my eqipments and method. I regret not putting everything into one post. But its too long, and since my layout is really narrow, I think I should do another.

Here are the food wraps:

(Aluminium Foil, Plastic Wrap, Baking Paper, Cling Wrap)

(Same Image without Packaging)                                         Strassburg Sausage (55% pork 30%beef)

 Pan-Fried Sausage Put into 4 Plates

                                                 (Sausage wrapped with Food Wrap)

There are more close-up shots that I'm saving up for my REAL REPORT. I'm going to continue psot pictures and my observations of the mould, throught the days.

Most part of my PRAC

Aim: To find out which food wrap preserves cooked sausage best in a frost free environment?
Equipment:

- A Pair Of Gloves
- Foil Wrap
- Cling Wrap
- Paper Bag
- Baking Paper
- 24 slices of cooked Sausage
- 4 plates
- Ruler

Method:

0) Collect all equipments named above.
1) Cut sausage into 4 slices
2) Fry sausage in saucepan
3) Place 4 slices of sausage in each plate.
4) Leave sausage to cool down at room temperature
5) Wrap the 4 plates with cling wrap, aluminium foil wrap, paper bag and baking paper. The area of the food wrap is 20cmx20cm each.
6) Place the 4 dishes on a bench away from sunlight or extreme cool air.
7) Leave the 4 dishes on the bench for 3 days.
8) Observe daily on the amount of mould. Measure with ruler the area of mould spread of each dish.
9) Take a picture of each dish for 3 days.
10) Smell for odour from the sausage.
11) Rate the odorous smell from 1-5, in order of fetidness.
12) Record the data in a table.
13) Repeat experiment again for the next 2 weeks.
14) Decide which food wrap is better in a frost free fridge. Analyse results by the amount of mould formed and smell rating.

 
Odorous Smell Chart

1- No Odour at All.
2- Little odour. Sour smell.
3- Not too strong. Can be smelt only close-up from plate.
4- Strong Odour that can be smelt 1 m away
5- Very Strong Odour that can be smelt 3 m away


Results

Climate Graphs Uplaoded Finally!!

Heyy, I hope this is right. I didn't know why people couldnt put 2 graphs at excel, did i do it right?? cuz i did mine all on excel.

Renee  =))

I HAVE DECIDED. THIS IS FINAL!!!

The title well states it already.
Which Tropical Fruit Will Survive In the Hottest Conditions?

So I am going to use 5 different tropical fruits for this experiment (10 of each fruit)
- Mango
-Banana
-Lychee
-Lemon
-Pineapple
-Kiwi ( as a spare alternative)

I am going to leave these fruits out in the sun for a number of hours. I am going to take before and after diagrams of the fruit with the exposure of the sun. I am going to see if it has gotten softer/harder after the sun, turned a different colour. The tropical fruit that is least effected will be the ''winner''.

It is hard to keep this consistent at times however I am going to try as hard as possible. I will buy all these fruits on the same day and start the experiment the following day. I will go to Centennial Park, where sunlight is plenty and leave it in an area where sun light is fully exposed (without any shade at all).

I will observe it like this: fruit after 2 hours of sun, after 4 hours and over 6 hours. Its changes will be recorded. I think this might be not too complicated so if Ms thinks its too easy then I will rise the difficulty of my analysis. I might include tasting it, e.g. if the fruit changed in taste, turned sour, or flavourless due to heat.

As emntioned before I am buying 10 of each kind of fruit. So altogether basically 50 fruits =)

Nope.... I Havent Forgotten About This!!

Heyy everyone =) I've been thinking  more and more of my SRP. I think if I had food wraps then I wouldnt have to buy so much equipments as I have them already (household supplies). However, If i use nail polish then I'll have to buy different removers and different nail colorus and also acryllic nails.

Those 2 ideas are completely not revelant to each other, so Im still deciding to do food science or nail polish/chemical reactions.

x Renee