Question

If the foreign microorganism invades the fermentation, which of the following is not likely to occur?

(a) The medium will not allow the growth of contaminant

(b) The contaminant may outgrow the production organism

(c) The contaminant may contaminate the final product

(d) The contaminant may degrade the final product

This question was addressed to me in a job interview.

The origin of the question is Batch Sterilization topic in section Sterilization of Fermentation Technology

Answer 1

Right answer is (a) The medium will not allow the growth of contaminant

Easy explanation: If the foreign microorganism invades the fermenter, the medium will allow the growth of the contaminant along with the production organism. In case, it may outgrow the production organism and contaminate or degrade the final product of the fermenter.