Deliverable Fresh Meal Kits: Food Safety

Description/Abstract/Artist Statement

Investigating food safety includes considering the environmental factors and procedures that keep food fresh while avoiding contamination to prevent food poisoning. Given the new market for deliverable fresh meal kits, one wonders what precautions are taken and procedures used by the deliverable food providers; and if their food is safe for consumption. For this project, I investigated the food safety attributes of three different deliverable meal kit companies. First, I compared their shipping/packaging methods. Then I calculated the bacterial colony counts on their food products using the Standard Plate Method. Finally, I identified all bacterial isolates using the Vitek 2 Compact identification system. The shipping and packaging protocols maintained an acceptable level of temperature control and separation between products. It is important to note that temperature from delivery to opening would affect colony counts. Our temperatures were maintained from receipt to incubation. All bacterial colony counts were within the allowable range according to the Food and Drug Administration guidelines; however, my quality control failed for one company due to Trypticase Soy Agar contamination. Those results were excluded from this study. The bacteria identified were typical for poultry and produce products, and no enteric pathogens known to cause food born illness were isolated. Following cleaning and cooking instructions, I concluded that the three deliverable meal kit companies provide quality foods that are safe for consumption.

Presenting Author Name/s

Amy Joy Vinarao

Faculty Advisor/Mentor

Angela Wilson

Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department

Medical Laboratory Science Department

College Affiliation

College of Health Sciences

Presentation Type

Poster

Disciplines

Food Microbiology | Medical Microbiology | Medical Sciences

Session Title

Poster Session

Location

Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library

Start Date

3-25-2023 8:30 AM

End Date

3-25-2023 10:00 AM

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Mar 25th, 8:30 AM Mar 25th, 10:00 AM

Deliverable Fresh Meal Kits: Food Safety

Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library

Investigating food safety includes considering the environmental factors and procedures that keep food fresh while avoiding contamination to prevent food poisoning. Given the new market for deliverable fresh meal kits, one wonders what precautions are taken and procedures used by the deliverable food providers; and if their food is safe for consumption. For this project, I investigated the food safety attributes of three different deliverable meal kit companies. First, I compared their shipping/packaging methods. Then I calculated the bacterial colony counts on their food products using the Standard Plate Method. Finally, I identified all bacterial isolates using the Vitek 2 Compact identification system. The shipping and packaging protocols maintained an acceptable level of temperature control and separation between products. It is important to note that temperature from delivery to opening would affect colony counts. Our temperatures were maintained from receipt to incubation. All bacterial colony counts were within the allowable range according to the Food and Drug Administration guidelines; however, my quality control failed for one company due to Trypticase Soy Agar contamination. Those results were excluded from this study. The bacteria identified were typical for poultry and produce products, and no enteric pathogens known to cause food born illness were isolated. Following cleaning and cooking instructions, I concluded that the three deliverable meal kit companies provide quality foods that are safe for consumption.