Science and Our Food Supply: Investigating Food Safety from Farm to Table

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MIDDLE LEVEL

A CHILLING INVESTIGATION

INTRODUCTION

You can use the following scenario as an introduction, or ask 

students to come up with a scenario of when meat might be 

unintentionally left out of the refrigerator for too long. 

Suggested Scenario: 

Last night, Mrs. Smith bought 2 packages of hamburger that 

she planned to cook for dinner the next evening. She put 

one package in the refrigerator. But then the phone rang, 

and other things occurred that distracted her. She forgot to 

put the other package of hamburger in the refrigerator.  

It sat out on the kitchen counter all night long. She woke  

up the next morning and placed the hamburger in the  

refrigerator, but wondered if the unrefrigerated hamburger 

was safe to eat. 

Ask students: Would you eat the unrefrigerated hamburger? 

Why or why not? Let’s test both packages of hamburger and 

see if there’s any difference between them. 

PROCEDURE