Abstract
Aim: Microbiological risk analysis of ready-to-eat fast foods for sale on the campus of Bangladesh Agricultural University was undertaken to understand the contribution of such foods to foodborne disease. Materials and Methods: From each of 10 randomly selected fast food outlets, a total of 120 samples of six food items were collected to assess common microbial load. In parallel, vendors were asked about their food production and selling practices, while consumers (n=200) were asked about their consumption of fast foods and whether they had experienced symptoms of foodborne disease. Results: Aerobic plate count (APC) varied from 6.92 to 7.24 log colony-forming unit (cfu)/g, Staphylococcus spp. 4.67 to 5.15 log cfu/g, Salmonella spp. 3.67 to 4.22 log cfu/g, and Escherichia coli 4.10 to 4.58 log cfu/g. Microbial risk assessment of Staphylococcus spp., Salmonella spp., and E. coli for daily, weekly, or monthly consumption was estimated by Monte Carlo simulation (10,000 iterations). The consumer survey showed 57% chance of being infected by ready-to-eat fast food samples. The calculated mean annual risks of Staphylococcus spp., Salmonella spp., and E. coli infection were about 100% in all cases. Conclusion: Thus, the study revealed high risk of infection associated with the consumption of ready-to-eat fast foods.
Highlights
It has been estimated that foodborne disease affects around 30 million individuals in Bangladesh every year [1], and it has been postulated that “fast food” contributes significantly to this total
The average microbial load of all fast food items is shown in Table-1
The average mean difference of Aerobic plate count (APC), Staphylococcus spp., E. coli, and Salmonella spp. among all ready-to-eat fast food items was not statistically significant (p
Summary
It has been estimated that foodborne disease affects around 30 million individuals in Bangladesh every year [1], and it has been postulated that “fast food” (i.e., food that has been prepared for direct human consumption without any need for further processing or handling: [2]) contributes significantly to this total. Bangladesh has experienced rapid societal changes, including urbanization, increased female employment, longer working hours, education, and other causes of absence from home, whose net effect has been a rapid expansion in the number of fast food premises. This increase in the fast food sector has largely occurred without effective regulation of standards of food safety and hygiene [3], with the result. That, for most people, meals away from home mean various forms of fast food that is prepared and sold at small-scale roadside eateries which are usually unhygienic Such food is increasingly likely to represent the main meal of the day
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