Why Would the Use of a Known, Reliable Starter Culture

question 55

Multiple Choice

Why would the use of a known, reliable starter culture improve the safety of fermented meat products?

• A) It doesn't. All fermented meat products are basically unsafe since we can't determine what fermentation products are left behind in the food. Some of them may be toxic.
• B) By using pure starter cultures, we KNOW what we're adding in, and how much. We can control the microbial fermentation precisely to best prepare the food product.
• C) We need to be very careful which microbes are introduced into a food product. Some microbes can interact with microbes already present in the food, producing toxins and toxic byproducts that might harm human beings.
• D) It doesn't. Every fermenting microbe ferments the same way, producing the same products. Whatever we start with, the outcome is the same.
• E) None of these explains why we would use known starter cultures.

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