Safety of cooked foods in home and street vended conditions beyond 2 hours: relevance of safe storage temperature message from WHOs 5 keys for safe food in India

Abstract

The present study examined the differences in microbial growth of foods prepared in household and street vended conditions. Three commonly consumed foods (rice, dhal, meat) were prepared in household (HH) condition and similar food samples collected from street vendors for microbial analysis (USFDA-BAM protocol) at every 2 hrs up to 8 hrs. TBC in cooked rice appeared after 6 hrs (log 0.45 ± 0.36 cfu/g) and 2 hrs of storage (log 0.95 ± 0.94 cfu/g) from HH foods and street foods respectively. Meat samples had log 1.28 ± 1.48 cfu/g at 8 hrs and log 1.17 ± 1.35 at 4 hrs in HH and street foods respectively. Bacillus cereus and Salmonella spp. were identified in street-vended dhal samples after 4 hrs. There is a need for better understanding on shelf life of cooked foods in HH conditions and street foods.