Some Facts about Mad Cow Disease

Also known as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is an illness associated with cows. It was first discovered in 1984 at a county near London. It is more commonly known as Mad Cow Disease due to the crazy behaviour of the infected cows.

Cows are known to be very tame creatures that do not attack humans or other animals. However, once being infected with this disease, the cows would be more on edge and have trouble controlling itself which leads to aggressive and antisocial behaviours such as kicking their owners. The cows would be more sensitive to its surroundings. They would eventually become weaker and soon would be unable to get up and eat. Once a cow has been infected with this disease, death would follow one to six months after they show their first signs of the disease.

What causes this disease is the formation of a sponge like structure in the grey matter of the cow’s brain. This disease is common to that of a disease that affects sheep known as scrapie which targets the animal’s nervous system. Researchers believe the agent causing this disease is similar to that that causes scrapie in sheep or by a sporadic form BSE. This however is uncertain. 

 
An infected cow that cannot stand up and refuse to eat

Information taken from: Mad cow disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) by Carmen Ferreiro

Norlina Dayana

History of Bak Kwa

Traditionally, bakkwa was made using leftover meats from festivals and banquets. They were preserved with sugar and salt, the preferred method prior to refrigeration, and then kept for later consumption. The meat from these celebrations is trimmed of the fat, sliced, marinated and then smoked. After smoking, the meat is cut into small pieces and stored for later. It is believed that the distinguishing feature behind the preparation was in the marination, and the recipe is often closely guarded.

Why can't ba kwa be grilled, steamed or baked?

hahahahah.

Geraldine

The true terror of worksheet 1 in HACCP template...

This session for our online discussion, it is quite tedious and complicated as there are a lot of things for us to cover in worksheet 1. Some research need to be done to look for legal limits of certain chemicals and microorganisms found in foods, how to some raw ingredients in BBQ beef helps in inhibiting the growth of certain in microorganisms and how the processing steps act as hurdles to reduce risk of hazards in food products.

Online discussion might be hard but my teammates still manage to produce some work and contribute to the worksheet 1, which is surprising good. completed 90% of the worksheet 1 and 2 for now. Now heading to worksheet 3 and 4! Hope we can finish our report on time! Cheers!

Vincent