Re: Meat from chickens contaminated with salmonella bacteria can cause ser

The passage itself doesn't have a conclusion, but we are trying to select an answer choice that would help us determine whether the capsaicin-laced feed would be useful in raising salmonella-free chicken for retail sale. So we need to select an answer choice that represents information that would help us make that determination. Before we do that, make sure you read the passage carefully and pay close attention to the author's word choice:

• "Meat from chickens contaminated with salmonella bacteria can cause serious food poisoning." - The meat from contaminated chickens CAN cause serious food poisoning, but it doesn't ALWAYS cause serious food poisoning.
• "Capsaicin, the chemical that gives chili peppers their hot flavor, has antibacterial properties. Chickens do not have taste receptors for capsaicin and will readily eat feed laced with capsaicin." - This tells us that capsaicin MIGHT help fight salmonella bacteria (since it has antibacterial properties). Chickens will readily consume capsaicin. So it would not be hard to get chickens to consume a substance that MIGHT help fight salmonella.
• "When chickens were fed such feed and then exposed to salmonella bacteria, relatively few of them became contaminated with salmonella." - Great, so when chickens are fed capsaicin and THEN exposed to salmonella (AFTER ingesting the capsaicin), few of them contracted salmonella. Note that this does not necessary mean that capsaicin will fight salmonella that the chicken already has.

We are trying to decide whether feeding capsaicin to chickens would help us raise salmonella-free chicken for retail sale. What if meat from chickens that consume capsaicin tastes awful (or just very different than normal chicken meat)? Sure, the meat would be salmonella-free, but if it tastes weird, consumers might not purchase the chicken. In that case, feeding capsaicin to chickens would not be a useful solution for raising chickens for retail sale. But if the chicken meat tastes the same with or without the capsaicin, then this could be an effective solution. Determining whether feeding capsaicin to chickens affects the taste of their meat would be useful in making the decision, so keep (A).


We are trying to decide whether capsaicin-laced feed would be useful in raising salmonella-free chickens for retail sale. In making that decision, we don't care whether capsaicin can be consumed by humans to reduce the risk of salmonella. Eliminate (B).


We are not trying to compare chicken meat to other kinds of meat. We are simply trying to determine whether capsaicin-laced feed would help raise salmonella-free chickens. Determining whether chicken is more prone to salmonella contamination than other kinds of meat would NOT help, so eliminate (C).


Even if appropriate cooking could prevent food poisoning, that wouldn't help us determine whether capsaicin can help us SELL salmonella-free chickens. True, choice (D) might make this question irrelevant, but you have to stick to what's being asked. We need information that would help us decide whether the capsaicin-laced feed would be useful in RAISING salmonella-free chicken for retail sale, and (D) doesn't help.


We don't care where the capsaicin comes from. All that matters is whether capsaicin-laced feed is an effective solution for raising salmonella-free chickens for retail sale. Choice (E) is irrelevant and can be eliminated.

(A) is the best answer.