Write 1 page essay on the topic MICROBIOLOGY: CASE STUDY: Determining.

Without a point of comparison between the old and the new preservative, one will not be able to clearly say whether the new preservative is indeed a good or better one. Based on the results of the experiment, the only possible conclusion one can arrive at is whether the new preservative can indeed be better than nothing, which is the control sample of cottage cheese.

Now, on the effectiveness of the preservative used in the cottage cheese, the data given is simply not sufficient in establishing this. One reason is that the data on the number and log must be compared with a standard preservative or that of the control sample. Another reason is that the data for the control sample were taken after 5 hours and 29 hours, whereas those for the experimental sample were taken after 6 hours and 38 hours. One should take samples and bacterial counts at exactly the same time in order to eliminate the variable of time difference. Moreover, data on pH is needed because “at neutral pH, such as 7.4, many preservatives do not have antimicrobial effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa” (Abu-Ghazaleh, 2010). If, therefore, the pH of the experiment cottage cheese were neutral, then no one would be able to expect any observable effectiveness. One last thing is the temperature. The inhibition of P. aeruginosa is possible with a preservative usually only during “7 days of storage at 6, 15, and 21°C” (Bautista et al., 2003). In the experiment, the incubation period is only 24 hours and the temperature is 25°C, which is slightly different from data from previous studies. Based on the conditions in the experiment, it seems that the bacteria cannot be eliminated at a higher temperature and a shorter time of exposure to the new preservative. All these aforementioned factors must be considered before determining the effectiveness of the new