In Recent Years the Irradiation of Food to Reduce Bacteria

question 25

Essay

In recent years the irradiation of food to reduce bacteria and preserve the food longer has become more common. A company that performs this service has developed four different methods of irradiating food. To determine which is best, it conducts an experiment where different foods are irradiated and the bacteria count is measured. As part of the experiment the following foods are irradiated: beef, chicken, turkey, eggs, and milk. The results are shown below. Can the company infer at the 1% significance level that differences in the bacteria count exist among the four irradiation methods? $$\begin{array} { | l | c | c | c | c | } \hline & & { \text { Bacteria count } } \\\hline \text { Food } & \text { Method 1 } & \text { Method 2 } & \text { Method 3 } & \text { Method 4 } \\\hline \text { Beef } & 47 & 53 & 36 & 68 \\\hline \text { Chicken } & 53 & 61 & 48 & 75 \\\hline \text { Turkey } & 68 & 85 & 55 & 45 \\\hline \text { Eggs } & 25 & 24 & 20 & 27 \\\hline \text { Milk } & 44 & 48 & 38 & 46 \\\hline\end{array}$$

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Definitions:

Straight-Line Rate

A method of calculating depreciation or amortization by evenly spreading the cost of an asset over its useful life.

End Assets

End assets refer to the total assets a company reports on its balance sheet at the end of a specific financial period.

Residual Value

The estimated value of an asset at the end of its useful life, reflecting what it could be sold for or its salvage value.

Units-Of-Production Depreciation

A depreciation method that allocates an asset's cost based on its usage, such as units produced or hours operated.