PrepTest 137, Section 3, Question 17
Any food that is not sterilized and sealed(56 more words not shown)
If the statements above are(9 more words not shown)
- AAll food preserved(9 more words not shown)
- BPreservation methods that(12 more words not shown)
- CFood preserved by(15 more words not shown)
- DAny nonsterilized food(9 more words not shown)
- EIf a food(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
‘Can contain bacteria’ doesn't mean ‘does contain bacteria.’ Keep that distinction as we sort these facts.
Sterilizing and properly sealing food removes bacteria. But an acceptable preservation method needn't do that; another acceptable method can merely slow the growth of disease-causing bacteria. Slower growth is different from eliminating them. The final sentence adds that some techniques may also destroy enzymes that make food spoil or discolor quickly. It doesn't identify exactly which techniques do that.
What we’re looking for
There's no conclusion to attack here. For the must-be-true question, we'll test the answers against those facts. We shouldn't assume the strongest possible protection just because a preservation method is acceptable, or decide which method is best overall without information about other considerations such as flavor or nutrition.
Working the answers
- A
Some acceptable methods only slow bacterial growth. The food could still contain disease-causing bacteria afterward. Sterilizing and sealing guarantees no bacteria under these facts; being preserved by any acceptable method does not guarantee the same result.
- B
Why couldn't a method both sterilize food and destroy the enzymes? ‘Some of the techniques’ refers to the preservation techniques just discussed without limiting the enzyme effect to the nonsterilizing group. We aren't told these two effects are incompatible. B creates a separation the passage doesn't establish.
- C
We aren't told which methods destroy the enzymes responsible for rapid discoloration, or how sterilization compares with other methods on that measure. Removing bacteria and preventing discoloration aren't presented as the same achievement. C adds a ranking we can't derive.
- DCorrect
Return to the first sentence: food that hasn't been sterilized and sealed can contain disease-causing bacteria. Nonsterilized food remains in that category, even if an acceptable method has slowed bacterial growth. D says it can contain bacteria, not that it necessarily does. That modest possibility follows from the stated rule.
- E
Maybe the food had no bacteria to begin with. Sterilizing and properly sealing it is a way to ensure that there are none, but the passage doesn't say it's the only way food can be bacteria-free. Observing the result doesn't establish that an acceptable preservation method was used.
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