MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
P.O. Box 972-60200 – Meru-Kenya
Tel: +254(0) 799 529 958, +254(0) 799 529 959, + 254 (0) 712 524 293,
Website: info@[Link] Email: info@[Link]
University Examinations 2018/2019
SECOND YEAR FIRST SEMESTER EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, BACHELOR OF FOOD
SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT AND BACHELOR OF HUMAN NUTRITION AND
DIETETICS
SBA 3250: GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY
DATE: JANUARY 2019 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer question one and any other two questions
QUESTION ONE (30 MARKS)
a) Define the following terms in context to food microbiology (4 marks)
i. Vi-antigen
ii. Septa
iii. Apoptosis
iv. O-antigen
b) List 6 methods that are used in the classification of bacteria. Discuss why nucleotide
sequence in 16S rRNA are used as an important technique in the classification
(4 marks)
c) During a microbiological examination Maina a microbiologist used both streaking and
pour plate techniques. Describe the purpose of carrying out streak plate and pour
techniques (2 marks)
d) List the differences in the chemical nature and function of cell wall structures between
Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (4 marks)
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e) Discuss the importance of bacteriophages in food. Briefly explain how prions are
different from the bacteriophages (3 marks)
f) List four major sources of foodborne pathogens in foods and indicate the measures that
should be implemented to reduce their incidence in foods (3 marks)
g) Briefly explain the importance of knowing the normal microbiological quality of food
(3 marks)
h) Define generation time as related to bacterial growth. If a pure culture of a bacterial
population during incubation at 350C in a nutritionally rich broth increases to 5x106/ml
from an initial population of 2.5x102 in 300min, calculate the generation time of the
strain. (3 marks)
i) When a population of microbial cell suspension is heated at a specific temperature, the
cells die at a constant rate. This observation helps in expressing the microbial death
rate due to heat as a function of time and temperature under a given condition.
Describe decimal reduction time (4 marks)
QUESTION TWO (20 MARKS)
a) Describe the following terms as used in microbiology (8 marks)
i. Thermisation and pasteurization
ii. Antiseptic and sanitizer
b) Define redox potential and discuss how it influences microbial growth in a food. How
can microorganisms be grouped on the basis of their growth capabilities at different
redox potentials and oxygen availabilities (12 marks)
QUESTION THREE (20 MARKS)
a) Explain synergistic growth, antagonistic growth, and symbiotic growth of
microorganisms in a substrate emphasizing on their advantages and disadvantages
(12 marks)
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b) During yoghurt making Diana inoculated the yoghurt culture at its optimal growth
temperature. Mention the microorganisms she is likely to use and describe their growth
in the milk substrate (8 marks)
QUESTION FOUR (20 MARKS)
Following your graduation, you are employed at KEBS where you are tasked with the
assurance of the microbial quality of food. Explain the steps you would follow to perform
a gram stain test on a milk sample (20 marks)
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