Training Of Food Handlers Research Articles

Trade and safety issues of raw beef from the countryside of Bahia state, Brazil.

Background: Brazil is one of the world’s largest meat exporters. However, there is a paradox in this situation due to existing non-inspected meat trade and technical-sanitary failures in retail marketing.Design and methods: This study aimed at characterizing the issues of trade, food safety and quality of raw beef in the street market of a municipality in the state of Bahia. An exploratory, quantitative and census study was carried out, at 17 raw beef vending locations. A questionnaire was administered and meat samples were collected (n=34), which were submitted to a physicochemical assessment, color analysis and microbiological analyses.Results: Meat sellers were between 20 and 64 years of age, predominantly males (82.4%), with limited education and without professional training (64.7%). Medians for temperature and pH in the small butcher shops samples were 18.10ºC and 5.75 respectively, and 21.80ºC and 5.50, in small supermarkets samples. The difference in pH was significant (p<0.05). The filtration test suggested quality changes in 17.65% of the samples. No frauds were detected. Total coliform count medians were 4.90 and 4.78 log CFU/g, for the samples taken from butcher shops and supermarkets, respectively. E. coli was identified in approximately 40.0% of the samples. Salmonella spp. were confirmed in two samples collected in the butcher shops. There was a significant association between inadequate storage conditions and microorganism counts (p<0.02).Conclusions: The results evidenced a meat supply with preservation failures and non-compliance with hygiene requirements, constituting a consumers’ health hazard, not in line with an agroexporting country model.Significance for public healthThe protection of food sold in street markets is of great importance for public health and food security. In this study, the microbial load of raw beef, as well as reported conditions of trade, processing and storage indicate a need for interventions with the aim of preventing health risks, continuing training of food handlers and investments in education, which contribute to reduce cases of food poisoning and foodborne diseases. The risks to consumer health are related to the contamination, survival and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms, which can access food through numerous pathways, reflecting precarious hygiene conditions throughout the process. Thus, strengthening Official Inspection and Health Surveillance systems can contribute to disease prevention and health promotion, minimizing healthcare expenditure and favoring the efficient allocation of resources.

Food Safety Awareness and Practices of Food Handlers in Cafes and Restaurants of Ambo, Guder and Ginchi Towns of West Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Good food safety awareness and practices play a great role for handlers in food production, and to guarantee foods served are safe for consumption. Aware or unintended contamination of such food places consumers at risk of suffering from food-borne infections. As a result the study was carried out to document the food safety awareness, food safety practices and attitudes of the manager in food businesses in Ambo, Guder and Ginchi towns of West Shoa of Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. The study targeted 120 food handlers and managers in the cafes and restaurants. The study involved an interview, followed by visual observation of the food handlers, equipment, homes and environment of the café and restaurants for confirmation. SPSS version 20 and descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the survey data collected from respondents. Majority of respondents were between the ages of 16 - 26years (54.2%) with tertiary or post-secondary education. The study revealed that food safety awareness and attitudes of the managers were satisfactory; however its practice was sensational. The study concluded that the food safety awareness, food safety practices and attitudes of the manager did not result an efficient food safety practices. It is recommended that training of food handlers for the control of environmental and technical sources of contamination is mandatory to secure food safety. Keywords: Awareness; Practices; Attitudes; Food handlers; Food safety DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-13-04 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Condições higiênico-sanitárias em uma escola pública do município de Januária-MG antes e após o treinamento dos manipuladores de alimentos

O treinamento dos manipuladores de alimentos constitui um aspecto importante na promoção da segurança alimentar em estabelecimentos de preparo e manipulação de alimentos, evitando riscos à saúde dos consumidores. Os manipuladores de alimentos constituem um elemento primordial nos serviços de alimentação, sendo responsáveis por casos de contaminação dos alimentos, por isso e necessário orientar e treinar esses manipuladores sobre os cuidados necessários para a oferta de um alimento seguro do ponto de vista higiênico-sanitário. O presente trabalho objetivou avaliar a eficácia do treinamento de manipuladores de alimentos de uma cantina de escola pública do município de Januária-MG, visando à redução dos riscos à saúde para os consumidores. Inicialmente, foi utilizada uma lista de verificação (checklist) para avaliar as atuais condições higienicossanitárias da cantina da escola. Posteriormente, foi promovido um treinamento em boas práticas de manipulação de alimentos para os manipuladores de alimentos da cantina da escola avaliada. Por fim, foram avaliadas novamente as condições higienicossanitárias da cantina da escola com o objetivo de verificar a eficiência do treinamento realizado com os manipuladores. A qualidade da água de abastecimento da escola avaliada neste estudo também foi determinada. Após a primeira aplicação da lista de verificação antes do treinamento dos manipuladores, o estabelecimento avaliado apresentou um percentual de atendimento às Boas Práticas de Fabricação (BPF) de 74,5%, sendo classificado como “regular”. Após o treinamento, o estabelecimento avaliado apresentou um percentual de atendimento às Boas Práticas de Fabricação (BPF) de 81,8%, passando a ser classificado como “bom”. O treinamento promovido no estabelecimento avaliado possibilitou uma melhoria das condições higiênico-sanitárias, uma vez que, a classificação quanto ao atendimento às boas práticas variou de “regular” para “bom”. A água utilizada pelo estabelecimento pesquisado estava fora dos padrões de potabilidade determinados pela legislação brasileira.

Food safety assessment of food handlers in the canteens of Khon Kaen University

The objective of this study was to assess the safety knowledge (K), attitudes (A), and hygienic practices (P) of canteen food handlers who were preparing foods daily. This research was conducted at Khon Kaen University. The study was divided into four parts: 1) demographic characteristics, 2) food safety knowledge, 3) food safety attitudes and 4) hygienic practice of food handlers. Part 1 to part 3 were accomplished by food handlers throughout the suvery questionnaires. The personal hygiene and handling practices (part 4) of food handlers were observed by the researchers. Ninety food handlers participated in this research. Most of the food handlers were female (75%) whose age ranging between 36-55 (65%). Seventy-five percent of food handlers had experiences of attending the hygienic practices training. The result showed that 55.37% and 68.50% of food handlers were revealed on average levels of knowledge and personal hygiene and handling practices, respectively. Moreover, the good attitude was 77.29%. The correct scores on KAP with gender, age, education and attending hygienic training of food handlers were not significantly different (p>0.05). However, total correct scores on K with A (rs= 0.424, p=0.00) and A with P (rs = 0.207, p=0.05) were significantly different. This study concluded that it is necessary to improve the knowledge of food handlers, because they were not aware of 1) the risk of foodborne pathogens, 2) critical temperature for storing of foods, and 3) the possibility of cross contamination. Effective ongoing training programs for the food handlers must be provided to improve their knowledge and practice. The food handlers must also be encouraged to implement the good hygiene practices to reduce the outbreak of foodborne illness.

Prevalence of Parasitic Intestinal Infections Among Food Handlers in Qazvin, İran

Food handlers play an important role in the production and distribution of parasitic contaminations in these societies. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among the food handlers in Qazvin, Iran. Totally, 1530 stool samples were collected from food handlers in Qazvin, Iran. Direct feces examination and formalinethyl acetate concentration method followed by Trichrome staining were performed to detect the parasites. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was 82 (5.4%) among food handlers. The species of protozoan parasites found were Blastocystis hominis, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba coli, and Endolimax nana. The outbreaks of Blastocystis hominis (2.9%), and Endolimax nana (0.3%) were the most and the least protozoan infections observed among the specimens, respectively. Also, there was no helminthic infection detected among the samples. The prevalence of intestinal parasites among the food handlers, based on variables including sex, age, job, and education, did not differ, whereas the prevalence of intestinal symptoms was shown to be higher in infected food handlers (p<0.05). Despite a decrease in the incidence of intestinal parasites, the protozoan infections are still among the health concerns in these areas. Therefore, continuous monitoring and training of food handlers by local health authorities should be performed on a regular basis.

Assessing safe food handling knowledge and practices of food service managers in Doha, Qatar.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess safe food handling practices, food safety knowledge, and adherence to implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point among 53 food safety managers working in randomly selected food service establishments in Qatar. Face-to-face interviews with the managers at each participating food service establishment were conducted using a survey consisting of 40 questions in October-December 2015. In addition to the survey questionnaire, a checklist was used to determine the implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point by observing actual practices applied at each food service establishment. About 66 and 68% of managers had college degree and were trained on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, respectively. Results also showed that casual sit-in and fine dine-in restaurants were the only food service establishments that consistently kept records on safe food handling practices (100%), followed by fast-food food service establishments (36%). Managers' training and education level were highly correlated with the probability of their employees receiving food safety training. This first assessment on food safety knowledge and practices in Qatar demonstrated that training and education are important factors that directly impact the food safety culture in food service establishments. These findings may help government agencies establish guidelines for compulsory on-site training of food handlers for effective food safety practices in food service establishments in Qatar where the fast growing demography has led to a rapid growth in food service establishment in different cuisines leading to heterogeneity in food safety practices.

Hygiene and Sanitation at Bubur Harisah in Gresik Regency

Food is a basic human need that must be fulfilled every day. Food preparation and serving should be done with appropriate processing so that the food can be utilized by the human body. Bubur Harisah is a special food of Gresik Regency which be sought after by people because of its health benefits. The research was conducted to identify the condition of hygiene and sanitation and the quality of Eschericia coli bacteria in bubur harisah based on Permenkes RI Nomor 1096 Tahun 2011 tentang Higiene Sanitasi Jasaboga. The research was done by observational method and cross sectional research design. The sample of the research was taken by non probability as 8 porridge harisah seller in Gresik Regency. Data collection was done by filling out questionnaires, observations, and laboratory tests. The result of the assessment of the hygiene and sanitation condition in bubur harisah that there are 4 sellers (50%) who did not fulfill the test of physical condition of hygiene and sanitation with percentage below 93%. There is 1 seller (12.5%) with positive sample test of bacteria Escherichia coli. Observation results test of physical condition show that condition of hygiene and sanitation of porridge harisah have not fulfill standard. The conclusion of this study is that there was bacteria Escherichia coli in the sample of bubur harisah. The suggestion for this research is that food traders should improve hygiene and sanitation conditions and conduct food handler training which is further supervised and supervised by the health office of Gresik Regency.

Effects of multiple interventions on the hygienic standards of food handling establishments

Background: Food hygiene has become a major issue in Sri Lanka despite having a national level programme on regular inspection of hygienic status of food handling establishments. The objectives of the present study were to assess the effects of multiple interventions on hygienic standards of food handling establishments. Methods: A quasi experimental study with an intervention and control group was conducted in two rural Medical Officer of Health areas. A sample of 133 food handling establishments from the intervention arm and a 140 from control arm were selected purposefully from eight clusters in each arm. For grading of food handling establishment (Health H800 revised) was used as the evaluation tool. Interventions included, strengthening multi-sectoral partnership, training for food handling establishment owners and workers, display of food hygiene rating at food outlets, and educating public on food hygiene rating system. The control areas continued the existing practices. Food handling establishments in both arms were assessed for pre and post intervention. Results: Significant improvements in hygienic standards of food handling establishments (p&lt;0.02) were observed in the intervention area (58.5%) compared to the control area (41.5%) after the intervention. The mean difference in hygienic scores between intervention and control groups before and after the intervention was highly significant (p=0.0005). Conclusion and recommendation: Multiple interventions including display of food hygiene rating to public, training of food handlers and owners of food trading establishments, health education on food hygiene and strengthening multi-sectoral collaboration had significant improvement in hygienic standards of food handling establishments. It is recommended to carryout multiple interventions to improve hygienic standards of food handling establishments.

The development of a competence scale of food safety and hygiene for hospitality students

AbstractThis study aims to develop a competence scale of food safety and hygiene for hospitality students and tests the factorial structure and validity by conducting confirmatory factor analysis to test for measurement invariance, as well as to determine scale reliability. The results indicate good discriminant validity, convergence validity, and reliability. The two‐level model ‐ two factors have significant better than other models. The food safety and hygiene competence scale includes professional competence dimensions (laws and regulations, basic hygiene knowledge, pre‐handing concepts, food operation procedures, and peripheral norms and regulations) and core competence dimensions (working spirit and attitude).Practical applicationsFood safety is a global important health issue. Many employees who study or have graduated from hospitality related departments work in the hospitality industry. The delivering existing food handler training programs within schools be an important mechanism to maintain the safety and hygiene in the work. The developed food safety and hygiene scale including professional competence dimensions (laws and regulations, basic hygiene knowledge, pre‐handing concepts, food operation procedures, and peripheral norms and regulations) and core competence dimensions (working spirit and attitude) has been development successfully for the students of hospitality departments.

Consumer Protection and Food Safety in Greece: Sanctions imposed by Hellenic Food Authority, in the years 2005-2013

The enforcement of food safety legislation consists of a number of procedures, that may lead in certaincases in imposing administrative penalties and fines, in an effort to alter the nonconformity status of certain food establishments, according to the predefined legislative standards. The aim of this study is to evaluate data upon nonconformity of food establishments in Greece, in order to define trends and frequencies in the general framework of food safety and consumer protection. Hellenic Food Authority (EFET), the competent authority for food safety in Greece, during the period 2005-2013, imposed fines to food establishments that mount to 17,513,900€ for food safety violations. Most of the fines were imposed at mass catering establishments (21.6%) followed by supermarkets (16.2%), food industry (15.1%) and food manufacture establishments (10.7%). Moreover Attica Prefecture is the region with the highest, in number, imposed fines (32.4%), followed in descending order by the Prefecture of Central Makedonia (31.5%) and of Crete (9.6%). Significant difference, in imposing fines (χ2 test, p≤0.05), was observed between mass catering establishments and violations concerning: i. Good Hygiene Practice (GHP) ii. infrastructure, iii. consumer misleading, iv. sale of unsuitable foods, v. preservation temperatures, vi. lack of food handlers training in food safety, vii. lack of food handlers booklet and viii. traceability systems. Moreover significant differences were observed between the level of the imposed fine and the type of violations (t-test, p≤0.05) concerning: i. only or and GHP, ii. only or and the sale of unsafe foods and iii. only or and issues of consumer misleading. According to Pearson coefficient there is a weak negative although significant (p≤0.001) correlation between years and the level of the imposed fines (r=- 0.079). In addition violations related to HACCP system, that resulted in imposing fines to food establishments by EFET in 2012, corresponded to 31.8% of the total delinquency concerning HACCP system ascertained by the Prefectural Directorates, that are in charge of official control in the field of food hygiene.

Observation of High School Students' Food Handling Behaviors: Do They Improve following a Food Safety Education Intervention?

Youth are a key audience for food safety education. They often engage in risky food handling behaviors, prepare food for others, and have limited experience and knowledge of safe food handling practices. Our goal was to investigate the effectiveness of an existing food handler training program for improving safe food handling behaviors among high school students in Ontario, Canada. However, because no schools agreed to provide control groups, we evaluated whether behaviors changed following delivery of the intervention program and whether changes were sustained over the school term. We measured 32 food safety behaviors, before the intervention and at 2-week and 3-month follow-up evaluations by in-person observations of students ( n = 119) enrolled in grade 10 and 12 Food and Nutrition classes ( n = 8) and who individually prepared recipes. We examined within-student changes in behaviors across the three time points, using mixed effects regression models to model trends in the total food handling score (of a possible 32 behaviors) and subscores for "clean" (17 behaviors), "separate" (14 behaviors), and "cook" (1 behavior), adjusting for student characteristics. At baseline, students ( n = 108) averaged 49.1% (15.7 of 32 behaviors; standard deviation = 5.8) correct food handling behaviors, and only 5.5% (6) of the 108 students used a food thermometer to check the doneness of the chicken (the "cook" behavior). All four behavior score types increased significantly ∼2 weeks postintervention and remained unchanged ∼3 months later. Student characteristics (e.g., having taken a prior food handling course) were not significant predictors of the total number of correctly performed food handling behaviors or of the "clean" or "separate" behaviors, working or volunteering in a food service establishment was the only characteristic significantly associated with food thermometer use (i.e., "cook"). Despite the significant increase in correct behaviors, students continued to use risky practices postintervention, suggesting that the risk of foodborne disease remained.

Food safety knowledge, practices and attitudes of fishery workers in Mar del Plata, Argentina

In order to identify training needs in food handling, the present study evaluates the theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge and attitudes of 221 food handlers working in fishing industries in Mar del Plata, Argentina. A written questionnaire of 45 questions was designed to collect the data on the demographic characteristics of the respondents, food contamination and bacterial growth, high-risk foods, type of hazards, personal hygiene practices, cleaning and disinfection and attitudes towards training on food safety. The results show that the food handlers have acceptable level for theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge and attitudes, with average score of 6.08 ± 2.69 (from a range of 0–10), 16.05 ± 2.19 (from a range of 0–20) and 7.28 ± 2.31 (from a range of 0–10), respectively. However, some unawareness was observed regarding to the term cross-contamination, the range of temperature that favors bacterial growth, the recognition of biological hazards, the proper duration of hand-washing and the necessary supplies in a washbasin. The majority of the participants showed a positive attitude towards the importance of training in hygiene practices. The theoretical knowledge level of the respondents showed a significant association with the level of education, the amount of training in food handling and the attitudes. The results reinforce the importance of continuing the training of food handlers by the use of teaching methodologies adapted to their level of education.

Food safety practices of future food handlers and their teachers, observed during practical lessons

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate future food handlers’ practices during practical lessons close to the end of their formal vocational education, and to record teachers’ behaviour and to evaluate classrooms that were intended for practical lessons.Design/methodology/approachA total of 90 students between 17 and 19 years of age, 12 teachers, and 12 training classrooms intended for practical lessons, which were divided into six observation sessions in the field of catering and six observation sessions in the field of food processing (bakery, confectionery, and butchery), were observed.FindingsBoth proper and inappropriate food-handling practices were observed among teachers and students. Comparing the hygienic-technical conditions of the training classrooms with teachers’ and students’ behaviour revealed several interconnected situations increasing the risk of food contamination during the production process.Research limitations/implicationsData were collected by one observer who was not part of the class. The sample size was small, limiting the generalisability of the results.Practical implicationsThe results indicate the weaknesses in the formal vocational education of future professional food handlers.Social implicationsGood food safety practices among food handlers reduce societal costs related to health-care systems and food industry economic losses.Originality/valueThe study provides an insight into the education and training of future professional food handlers in a controlled environment in educational institutions.

The effectiveness of food handler training programmes in Malaysia and Ireland to prevent food-borne disease

The effectiveness of food handler training programmes in Malaysia and Ireland to prevent food-borne disease

A severe gastroenteritis outbreak of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis PT8, with PFGE profile XbaI.0024 and MLVA profile 2-9-7-3-2 following a christening reception, Greece, 2016.

In June 2016, a Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis outbreak (n = 56) occurred after a christening reception in Central Greece, mainly affecting previously healthy adults; one related death caused media attention. Patients suffered from profuse diarrhoea, fever and frequent vomiting episodes requiring prolonged hospitalisation and sick leave from work, with a 54% hospital admission rate. The majority of cases experienced serious illness within <12 h of attending the party. We investigated the outbreak to identify the source(s) of infection and contributing factors to the disease severity. From the retrospective cohort study, the cheesy penne pasta was the most likely vehicle of infection (relative risk 7·8; 95% confidence interval 3·6-16·8), explaining 79% of the cases. S. enterica ser. Enteritidis isolates were typed as phage-type PT8, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type XbaI.0024, multiple locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis-type 2-9-7-3-2. The strain did not share the single-nucleotide polymorphism address of the concurrent European S. enterica ser. Enteritidis PT8 outbreak clusters. Following five consecutive years with no documented S. enterica ser. Enteritidis outbreaks in Greece, this outbreak, likely associated with a virulent strain, prompted actions towards the enhancement of the national Salmonella molecular surveillance and control programmes including the intensification of training of food handlers for preventing similar outbreaks in the future. Advanced molecular techniques were useful in distinguishing unrelated outbreak strains.

Safe Food Handling Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Food Handlers in Hospital Kitchen

Hospital food hygiene plays an important role to patient's health. Studies proved that improper practices and lack of knowledge are contributing factors of foodborne diseases. This study was conducted to determine knowledge, attitude and practice of hospital safe food handling in Semarang, Central Java. A cross sectional study was conducted in two general hospitals' kitchen. Data were collected from 60 food handlers through validated questionnaire. Respondents were grouped into two categories: a. Teaching Hospital, and b.Non-teaching Hospital. Data were collected in February-April 2017. Most of food handlers (80%) were graduated from vocational senior high school (SMK). Respondent's age were 28-37 years (36.7%) in average. Most of respondent‟s work experience (85%) was less than 15 years. The result showed that more than 80% of food handlers have good knowledge in safe food handling procedures, good attitude (66%) and good practices (90%). There was no significant difference of knowledge, attitude and practices between two groups. Results strongly emphasize the need of food hygiene training of hospital food handlers. It also suggest that non food handlers such as nurse or kitchen supervisor should involved in the training. Some aspects of food handlers' safety behavior need to be emphasized.

Effect of the implementation of the mixed cafeteria system in a hospital nutrition and dietetic service.

The type of service offered by the nutrition and dietetics service (NDS) of a hospital has a direct impact on food waste. To evaluate waste in the transition from a simple to a mixed cafeteria service. The study was carried out in a NDS of a University Hospital during 60 days (30 days for each type of service). The meals prepared and distributed and the leftovers of lunch and dinner were weighed. Per capita values of non-usable leftovers were below the acceptable range (7-25 g), not varying with the service transition (p = 0.3) at lunch. At dinner, on the contrary, values were above the acceptable range, with a median of 190 g and 202 g, also showing no difference with the service modification (p = 0.5). At lunch, with the transition, there was a reduction in the plate waste-ingestion (p < 0.0001), percentage of plate waste-ingestion (p < 0.0001) and percentage of non-usable foods (p = 0.007). At dinner, there was a reduction in the plate waste-ingestion (p < 0.0001) and in the percentage of plate waste-ingestion (p = 0.0001). The modification of the service type was effective in reducing the plate waste-ingestion, but did not lead to operational modifications of the service, since the amount of non-usable leftovers remained high at dinner. Greater control of the production and distribution of meals is suggested, as well as training of food handlers and supervisors, implementation of standardized operating procedures and cost control in order to reduce waste, which has an economic, social and political impact.

Foodborne Giardiasis: Is There Any Relationship Between food Handlers and Transmission of Giardia duodenalis?

The foodborne diseases are amongst the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the human communities. Giardia duodenalis, the causative agent of giardiasis, is one of the foodborne parasites, which has public health importance. The aim of the current study was to assess the prevalence of G. duodenalis among food handlers in Andimeshk County, southwest of Iran. This cross-sectional study was undertaken among 480 food handlers in 2015. The collected stool specimens were investigated using direct saline smear, Lugol's iodine- staining, and sucrose flotation methods. The overall prevalence of G. duodenalis in the examined participants was 12 (2.5%). The higher prevalence 75% (9/12) was found among participants with medium and low levels of education and 25% (3/12) belonged to those with high level of education. Direct microscopic examinations revealed two (0.4%) positive cases infected with Hymenolepis nana, with one of them showing mixed infection with G. duodenalis. Based on the obtained results, infected food handlers could be a potential source of intestinal parasitic infections, and transmission can occur through contaminated food. Therefore, we suggest that food handlers training programs should be implemented to increase the awareness of food handlers and reduce the transmission of intestinal parasites.

High Prevalence of Intestinal Parasite Carriage Among Food Handlers in the Gambia

Background: Most of the world population is approximately infected with intestinal parasites, the burden of this infection is mainly found in people living in developing countries where hygiene and environmental sanitation are poor. Gambia is not an exception to this phenomenon of poor hygiene and sanitation, therefore is at high risk of intestinal parasitic burden. Thus, this study seeks to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of parasitic infections among food handlers who sells food at Lower Basic Schools in the West Coast Region in The Gambia. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study used 540 stool samples stored at 10% formaldehyde collected from different food handlers during a study titled (Prevalence and risk factors of fecal carriage of Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae amongst food handlers in Lower Basic Schools in West Coast Region of The Gambia). Stool samples were examined microscopically using both normal saline and iodine for identification of cysts and eggs, larval of intestinal parasites using direct microscopes. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 16 and Microsoft excel version 2010 software to determine the risk factors. Results: Of the 540 food handlers administered, 536 (99.3%) were females. It was found that 250 (46.3%) were intestinal parasite carriers. Entameoba histolytica/dispar 150 (46%) followed by Giadia lamblia 52 (16%), E. coli 40 (12.3%), E. harmana 20 (6.1%), Strongloides 18 (5.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides 14 (4.3%), Iodamoeba butschlii, 9 (2.8%), Teania spp. 6 (1.8%), Diphyllobotrum latum 3 (0.9%), Hookworm 3 (0.9%), Fasiola hepatica 2 (0.6%), Hymenolepis dimunta 2 (0.6%), Tricguris Trichura 1 (0.3%), Fasiola Buski 1 (0.3%), Hymenolepis nana 1 (0.3%) and V. nana 4 (1.2%) were the parasites identified from the studied. Most of the food handlers were certified for handling food 483 (89.4%) and 492 (91.2%) know the principle of food safety. Among the risk factors, living with domestic animals, lack of training in food handling and hand washing practices with P-value of (0.014), (0.017), and (0.056) respectively and 95% Confidence Interval was associated risk factors of intestinal parasite infections. Conclusions: This study showed high prevalence of intestinal parasites among food handlers. Training of food handlers on proper methods of food preparation and practice of good personal hygiene should be conducted on regular basis. Since, transmissions of intestinal parasites are by fecal-oral route, food handlers are important sources of infections. Epidemiological surveillance and quarterly screening of food handlers should be done by qualified personnel for isolation of intestinal parasites.

Microbiological quality of pastrami and associated surfaces at the point of sale in Kayseri, Turkey

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to trace the possible relations between the hygienic status of slicing utensils and the microbiological quality of pastrami. Study DesignA total of 75 pastrami retail markets were visited in Kayseri, Turkey, where the pastrami (a ready-to-eat meat product) is commonly produced and consumed. Sliced pastrami, the cutting board and knife surface swabs were collected from each pastrami retail point to trace possible sources of contamination. MethodsSamples were analysed for the presence of total viable counts (TVC), total coliforms, Escherichia coli, members of Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria spp. In addition, pastrami samples were analysed for sulphite-reducing Clostridium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii. ResultsWhen compared with the target values of related literatures, a total of 6 (8%) pastrami samples were found unsatisfactory as a result of TVC (5.3%), Enterobacteriaceae (5.3%), E. coli (2.6%), S. aureus (2.6%), Listeria spp. (2.6%) and Listeria monocytogenes (1.3%) contaminations. No T. gondii positivity was observed among the pastrami samples. None of the cutting board and knife surface swabs were found to harbour TVC level >103 cfu/cm2, E. coli and L. monocytogenes. For the total coliforms, 7 (9.3%) and 5 (6.6%) of cutting board and knife surface swabs were found to exceed the target value (<2.5 cfu/cm2), respectively. No statistically significant correlation was detected between the organisms on pastrami and slicing utensils indicating that pastrami were not cross-contaminated by the contact surfaces. ConclusionMore emphasis needs to be placed for training of food handlers and to apply good hygienic practices at the point of pastrami sale. The conditions at retail points must be monitored and inspections should be tightened to protect public health.