This group of three Irish students discovered that freezing chicken before cooking can help kill Campylobacter jejuni bacteria and prevent food poisoning. Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in Europe, with over 200,000 reported cases annually. It lives harmlessly in animal guts but can spread during meat processing. The students hope to conduct experiments proving that freezing chicken below -20°C ruptures bacterial cell walls, killing 90% of bacteria and preventing illness when the meat is properly cooked. Their goal is to raise awareness of how freezing can provide a simple way to enhance food safety.

1. Campylobacter jejuni
#SciChallenge2017
BY NIAMH QUINN, LEAH HOARY AND ALYSON KEANE

2. About Ourselves
 Hello! We are a group of three students from Portumna Community
School, Co. Galway, Ireland who are entering Sci-Challenge 2017.
 We would like to share with you our recent discovery that we believe
could not only change Europe but the world of health in a small but
relevant way.
 We hope that you the reader enjoy this power point and take something
useful from it.

3. Our Project
 We came up with the idea for this project when we noticed how food
poisoning is a very common problem within the EU even with the food safety
regulations.
 This is due to the fact that it is quite easy for bacteria to grow.
 In 2008 there were 200,000 recorded cases of food poisoning in the EU and
there are over 190,000 recorded cases every year some of which that have
ended in death.
 This illness can be fatal to those with low immune systems and so we wanted
to find a way to stop, or at least prevent it.

4. What is campylobacter jejuni?
 Campylobacter jejuni is a form of campylobacter bacteria most
commonly found in poultry meat (such as chicken, Turkey etc.) and
unpasteurised milk. It is a harmful bacteria and is the most common
cause of food poisoning in Ireland and the UK.

5. Where does it come from?
 As to where campylobacter jejuni comes from still remains a mystery. Dr.
Cyrel V Carroll has completed a number of tests in NUIG (National
University Ireland Galway) and is still unsure to how the animals recieve
the bacteria.
 What we do know is campylobacter lives harmless to the animal in the
gut. During the processing of the meat campylobacter jejuni can spread
to other parts of the animal. Therefore all raw meat should be treated as if
infectious.

6. What effect does campylobacter have
on the body?
 If campylobacter jejuni is consumed, it can cause campylobacteriosis.
 Campylobactoriosis is a zoonosis which means it is a disease or infection that can be
transmitted directly or indirectly between animals and humans.
 When passing through the intestines it passes it’s way into the villi causing the
intestines to become inflamed.
 The villi absorb liquids and so if the intestine becomes swollen And causes bowl
problems.
 The effects of campylobacter jejuni usually do not occur until 2-5 Days after it is
consumed because of this people are often unaware to the reason they are sick.
 1 in 10 people that get sick From campylobacter jejuni do not recover within a week.

7. How can this illness be prevented?
How to prevent food poisoning:
 Wash your hands, utensils and food surfaces often as excess may be left
behind by food.
 Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods.
 Make sure all meat is cooked well (72°C core temperature for 2 mins).
 Refrigerate or freeze perishable foods within 2 hours of buying them.
 Defrost food safely. Make sure no liquids from the meat get on any surfaces
and if so clean well with an antibacterial cleaning agent.
 If you are in doubt about a food being safe to eat (if the food has an unusual
smell or colour) throw It out.
 Don’t wash meat as it can splatter and spread the bacteria on other surfaces.

8. Discoveries
 It is a common mistake due to it publicity but Campylobacter is actually a more
common food poisoning causing bacteria than Salmonella.
 Campylobactor can grow anywhere between 30-45°C with its optimum being 42°C.
 We have discovered from our research that when frozen campylobacter slowly dies.
 When campylobacter is frozen below -20°C the ice crystals rupture the bacteria walls
and therefore kills the bacteria.
 Although it kills the bacteria only roughly 90% is actually killed and can begin
multiplying again once it reaches its growth temperature so meat should always be
cooked to a core temperature of 72°C for at least 2 minutes.
 This then rises the question. Is it better to freeze your chicken before cooking it?

9. Is freezing Meat good or bad?
 Apart from small flavor loss meat looses no nutritional value when frozen.
 If anything freezing food is a benefit as it can help to preserve vitamins
and minerals oppose to refrigerating which can only preserve vitamins
and minerals for a number of days.
 We aren’t telling people that flavor in food doesn’t matter. It does. We are
just making people aware that freezing meat can be a good thing.

10. Future hopes
 We are very interested in this topic and hope that some day
we will get to complete our experiment in a Laboratory and
prove that freezing meat can prevent food poisoning as we
believe this, in the future, may help to prevent the most
common form of food poisoning.
 We also hope to travel to Vienna and show the people of Sci-
challenge our project

11. Thank You for reading!
We hope you enjoyed our presentation
and learned something new from it!