Raw salmon - Sushi eaters should be careful!

We conducted a very interesting experiment in our Undergrad Research class two weeks ago. We were divided into three groups to determine the number of bacteria on sample of raw salmon, raw chicken and cooked chicken. Both salmon and chicken were bought just one day before the lab day. I will not detail how the experiment was conducted but the results obtained. There was 2506 CFUs/mL counted on raw salmon sample while 470 CFUs/mL on raw chicken and only 330 CFUs/ on cooked chicken. Please be noted that CFU is Colony Forming Unit or a chain of bacteria. We did not count single bacteria because they are too tiny and too many to be counted. CFUs are like “small islands” where a lot of bacteria are growing (See pictures). 

CFUs of raw salmon sample (One spot is one CFU)

CFUs of raw chicken sample

 Also, we found that the bacteria of raw salmon are more diverse than that of chicken; you can see from the pictures, CFUs on salmon sample have more colors than chicken. To write the formal lab report for this experiment, I did a lot of research about raw meat and bacteria. It is said that the shelf – life of seafood is very short (O. Mejlholm and P. Dalgaard, 2002) as compared with other meats. That is the reason of quick spoilage of seafood. Right after taking the salmon out of the pack for the test, there were 1400 CFUs/mL counted on the sample for run 1, after about 10 minutes we conducted run 2 and got 3800 CFUs/mL, the salmon was re-contaminated so quickly. I am thinking about the salmon we eat at a sushi restaurant, that piece of salmon takes a certain time from the moment of being made, travelling around on the chain, to arriving at our table, how long is it? Is such time enough for it to be re-contaminated?  So scary!!!

Reference

O. Mejlholm and P. Dalgaard, “Antimicrobial effect of essential oils on the seafood

spoilage micro-organism Photobacterium phosphoreum in liquid media and fish products”, The Society for Applied Microbiology, 2002: p1     

Low Tide: from South Seattle to UW: Did that register?

(Posted by Tori)

Low Tide: from South Seattle to UW: Did that register? 
(Hyperlink to Tori's blog for full post):

"Greetings fellow transfer hopefuls! As you may know from our crimson summer catalog, Monday May 16th was the first day to register for cl..."

My limit.

This is the first time I take four classes in a quarter. I have slept less, read more, and write more. But that is what I want. I want to challenge myself. I want to determine my limit.  So many people don’t think I can do Chemical Engineering. I know it is tough. But I chose it and am working very hard at school for it, because I want to know if it is my limit.  This is also the first quarter I have done much volunteer work such as teaching Vietnamese at Van Lang school, planting trees, helping new students at Spring orientation… because I want to know if I can handle that much work at the same time. I again want to determine my limit.  I am working on a research project with my Chemistry instructor. Research project for college students is really a tough stuff because they have not been equipped with that much knowledge for it.  But I did decide to do it to find if it is my limit.

College is a great place for us to determine our limit, so just push you to as far the limit as you can, and just do whatever you dream. Don’t waste your youth and think that it is too much for you because your limit could be farther than the one you think of.  

Who I am!!!!

Hello, my name is Chi K. Lai. As other kids, I had a lot of dreams but my unfortunate fate was always my excuse of not making it come true.  I admired people working in lab, and loved seeing them in lab coat, and goggles. My childhood was full of wonders of how they made it, how it happens, why this not that occurs…That is how my passion of Chemistry was nurtured. However, life is not that simple. I could not do the things I like. The financial difficulty of my family pushed me in an absolutely opposite direction, Education. After four years at University of Education with full scholarship in Vietnam, I got a Bachelor’s Degree. But my passion for Chemistry was still burning. After graduating, I went to work and tried to save as much I can. And now with my saving and financial support from Mom and Dad, I finally get into the road I really want to travel in. About 7 years and a half to wait for this opportunity could be long to someone, but for me it was an interesting journey that I never forget in my life. I studied very hard to maintain the full scholarship without which I could not continue my school at that time, and I also worked very hard to save money for such dream of coming back to school.  All have made me mature and I appreciate what I am doing right now, that is the chance to go for my passion of Chemistry to become a Chemical Engineer in 4 years. I would like to say that it is AWESOME to do the thing I love. I like this feeling!!! :)

This blogger account is so meaningful to me since my voice could be heard and my experience could be shared. Plus, I could learn from you through your comments on my posts.

If you would like to get a hold of me, just feel free to contact me at kimnguyen0408@yahoo.com