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Natural vs. Synthetic Chemicals & FATTOM

This document discusses natural vs synthetic chemicals and the conditions needed for bacterial growth. It defines natural chemicals as those produced by nature without human intervention, while synthetic chemicals are manufactured by humans using different methods than nature. It then provides examples of each. The document also explains FATTOM, a mnemonic used in the food industry to remember the six factors required for bacteria to grow: food, acidity, time, temperature, oxygen, and moisture. Perishable foods left at room temperature for over two hours can allow bacteria to rapidly reproduce in those favorable conditions.

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Jek Soriano
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109 views2 pages

Natural vs. Synthetic Chemicals & FATTOM

This document discusses natural vs synthetic chemicals and the conditions needed for bacterial growth. It defines natural chemicals as those produced by nature without human intervention, while synthetic chemicals are manufactured by humans using different methods than nature. It then provides examples of each. The document also explains FATTOM, a mnemonic used in the food industry to remember the six factors required for bacteria to grow: food, acidity, time, temperature, oxygen, and moisture. Perishable foods left at room temperature for over two hours can allow bacteria to rapidly reproduce in those favorable conditions.

Uploaded by

Jek Soriano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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1. Natural chemicals are produced by nature without any human intervention.

Synthetic (man-made)
chemicals are made by humans using methods different than those nature uses, and these chemical
structures may or may not be found in nature. This definition means a synthetic chemical can be made
from a natural product.

Examples of Natural Chemicals:


 Water – essential for life
 Sucrose – known as table sugar
 Citric Acid – found in lemons

Examples of Man-made (synthetic) Chemicals:

 Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – food additive


 Aspirin – pain reliever
 Aspartame – artificial sweetener

2. FATTOM is a mnemonic device used in the food service industry to describe the six favorable
conditions required for the growth of bacteria.

It is an acronym for:
F ood
A cidity
T ime
Temperature
O xygen
M oisture

Perishable foods, for example, can be kept at room temperature for only a very short TIME - no more
than two hours in the aggregate. Meaning if you leave it out for an hour and then put it back in the
fridge, that food can still only be out of the fridge for another hour altogether. It doesn't start over with
a fresh two hours. This is because bacteria reproduce very rapidly under normal circumstances. They
do so by splitting themselves into two identical selves, which they can do several times an hour, as can
each new one. Thus a single bacterium can become millions in just a few hours. Ensuring perishable
items aren't left out for more than two hours limits the bacteria's ability to reproduce.

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