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

How the 4 Cs of Food Safety Control Bacteria 

If bacteria can grow so rapidly under the right conditions, then how do we control them? 

It’s simple: 

Cleaning

 — removes bacteria from hands and surfaces. 

Cooking

 — kills bacteria by breaking down their cell walls and destroying enzymes, which they need to survive. 

Chilling

 — slows down the bacteria’s metabolism, thus slowing their growth. 

Combating Cross-Contamination

 (separating foods) — prevents bacteria from spreading from one food item to 

another, or between foods and hands or surfaces/utensils.   

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MIDDLE LEVEL

Emerging Pathogens  

Not only can bacteria multiply quickly, but they can 

also mutate (adapt and evolve), a process that results in 

changes to their genetic code. These changes happen 

very slowly and can make the bacteria better able to 

survive. These changes can also change harmless  

bacteria into harmful bacteria, which often possess a 

new genetic characteristic like antibiotic resistance.