ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: First, a basic formula and the traditional preparing method of Marinated Bitter Melon and Cucumber were decided based on experiments. Then the bacteria reducing rate between the main raw Materials and finished products and the change of bacterial flora the two samples stored in the refrigerator is tested. Results show that total bacteria count found in the dish prepared by traditional method is 5.4 × 104 CFU/g. 69.5% of the bacteria comes from bitter melon, 29% from cucumber, and 1.5% from onion; while the total bacteria count found in the dish prepared by scalping method is 2.3 × 103 CFU/g, reduced by 57.4%. The finding is: the contamination of Marinated Bitter Melon and Cucumber prepared by the traditional method is severe; however, the situation improved greatly using scalping technics and the shelf life of the dish is prolonged significantly. Therefore, the risks of food poisoning can be lowered. The finding is meaningful in terms of safe handling of this kind of foods.
