Chicken Wing Microbiology

 

Marielle H. Hoefnagels & Mark Walvoord

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2006, Volume 27

Abstract

In the first week of this three-lab series, students wash store-bought chicken wings in sterile saline, serially dilute the resulting bacterial suspension, and inoculate agar plates. In the following week, students count the colonies and calculate the number of colony-forming units per ml of wash fluid (typically around 10^6 cfu/ml). They design experiments to test treatments that might reduce the microbial contamination of chicken wings, and they collect the data during the third week. Instructor notes include safety reminders, suggestions for incubating plates, and ideas for possible assignments.

Keywords:  aseptic technique, serial dilution, plate count

Virginia Tech (2005)