Change is necessary in a biological engineering curriculum.

Success of a Biological Engineering undergraduate educational program can be measured in a number of ways, but however it is measured, a presently successful program can translate into an unsuccessful program if it cannot adjust to different conditions posed by technical advances, student characteristics, and academic pressures. Described in this paper is a Biological Engineering curriculum that has changed significantly since its transformation from Agricultural Engineering in 1993. As a result, student numbers have continued to climb, specific objectives have emerged, and unique courses have been developed.

Serial disinfection with heat and chlorine to reduce microorganism populations on poultry transport containers.

A prototype system for the cleaning and decontamination of poultry transport containers was previously developed and evaluated as a means of eliminating foodborne pathogens entering poultry processing plants. While decontamination of the containers once with the use of either hot water (up to 70 degrees C) or sodium hypochlorite (up to 1,000 ppm) resulted in significant reductions in the numbers of coliforms and the elimination of small numbers of Salmonella, complete removal of pathogens was not attained. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine whether repeated decontamination of the same containers could eliminate coliforms and Salmonella consistently.