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

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MIDDLE LEVEL

MODULE 5:

 OUTBREAK AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGY 

BEEF BLASTERS 

TIME TO TUNE IN

  

Module 5 — Outbreak and Future Technology 

Let’s see Dr. Solomon in action as he explains the Hydrodyne theory and demonstrates  

his explosive activities. 

Show video Module 5 — Outbreak and Future Technology. Begin with Dr. Solomon’s  

segment (Time: 3 minutes). 

RESOURCES

• 

Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide (See the following 

terms — Bacteria, Food Safety, Food Technology, and U.S. 

Department of Agriculture.) 

• 

Dr. X and the Quest for Food Safety video Module 5 — 

Outbreak and Future Technology 

• 

Websites: 

American Meat Institute (AMI): www.meatami.com 

U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, USDA:  

www.marc.usda.gov

Gateway to Government Food Safety Information:  

www.foodsafety.gov 

• 

Research additional examples in science or recent history where 

discoveries were made unexpectedly (e.g., Alexander Fleming and 

the discovery of penicillin, Louis Pasteur and the discovery of 

pasteurization, the 3M Post-It

®

 Notes invention, and NASA  

discoveries). Identify scientists who might be (or might have 

been) considered maverick thinkers and who work (or worked)  

in unconventional ways. 

• 

Give tentative explanations/informal hypotheses for how the 

shock waves kill harmful bacteria. 

• 

Design a tool that could kill bacteria in a variety of foods. 

Give explanations about why your technology might work. 

• 

Learn more about Dr. Solomon’s background and career  

(see the Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide Careers section).  

EXTENSIONS

SUMMARY

Scientists sometimes have unconventional ideas 

and test them in unique ways. This article was 

a great example of how serendipity and the 

personality of scientists sometimes play a major 

role in scientific discoveries, and it clearly  

illustrates that science is a human enterprise. 

In this case, in addition to discovering how to 

tenderize beef, the scientist found that shock 

waves also work to significantly reduce the 

amount of bacteria on and in the meat. 

UP NEXT 

Be prepared to lose a million ... a million 

bacteria, that is! Are you ready to play  

the Lose a Million Bacteria Game?