Epidemic Risk in the Production, Trading, and Food Consumption Sites in Haskovo Region

Abstract

ISEE-818 Objective: In the transitional period to a market economy in Bulgaria, many small enterprises were established, applying new technologies and technical means, the food recipes have been enriched with rare, not traditional, often made of exotic ingredients and raw materials, etc. On the other hand, the financial deficiency in the crisis period was a prerequisite for unreasonable diminishing of storage, fridge, and kitchen areas, which worsened the sanitary-hygiene regime in the catering places and the food staff trading facilities. The purpose of this study was to make an analysis of the epidemic risks in some production and trading sites, catering places, and ready food shops in Haskovo region. Materials and Methods: The primary information is based on the laboratory analyses of 3312 smears of medium in 453 production sites, catering places, food supply blocks in children and school facilities/ institutions, etc, and 892 samples of food staffs and ready-made meals in Haskovo region. Results: The highest rate of samples with deviations is established for the meat (39.27%) and milk (35.9%) products; 90.9% of the tested meals, soups, and desserts showed the presence of Escherichia coli. Conclusions: The hygiene requirements control of the raw materials and the technological operation regime in part of the catering institutions have not been observed, including the sites in children and school facilities. Significant violations of the sanitary-hygiene regime are seen in some of the monitored sites: the employees are not aware of the rules for good production practice. It is required to improve the exigency of the hygiene-antiepidemic control in the production sites, trading, and food consumption places in Haskovo region.