Refrigerator Handle Research Articles

Food Safety Attitudes, Behaviors, and Hygiene Measures among Predominantly Low-Income Parents in Houston, Texas

Foodborne infections in the United States affect racial-ethnic minority and low-income populations at higher rates than the general population. To identify the prevalence of food safety behaviors and demographic characteristics associated with food handling practices among a susceptible, high-risk population, a cross-sectional survey was administered to 106 parents with children enrolled at two elementary schools serving predominantly low-income families in Houston, Texas. Relationships between demographic characteristics and food safety behavioral outcomes were examined using cross-tabulations and Fisher's exact test. Most respondents were female (93.4%), Hispanic, Latino, or Mexican American (94.9%), and had no previous food handling employment experience (75.0%). The primary source of food safety information reported was the Internet (32.7%), and nearly half of parents (42.7%) reported that they did not consider contamination of food with germs a serious food safety problem. Hand washing before food preparation was more common (98.0%) than before touching the refrigerator handle (66.3%), after electronic device use (55.6%), or after handling raw animal proteins (77.6%). The prevalence of fresh fruit (98.0%) and vegetable (97.9%) washing and appropriate contaminated cutting board handling (89.0%) was high among parents. Self-reported gaps in food handling behaviors identified included lack of food thermometer ownership (80.4%), use of reusable cleaning tools (71.0%), inappropriate defrosting methods (67.4%), and washing of raw poultry (86.3%), seafood (84.9%), and meat (74.7%). Hand washing after electronic device use and defrosting methods were observed to vary significantly according to demographic characteristics. Food safety education with messages targeted to specific demographic groups may be necessary to reduce the risk of foodborne disease among low-income parents and young children.

Evaluation of the kitchen microbiome and food safety behaviors of predominantly low-income families.

Bacterial pathogens in the domestic environment present a risk to residents, particularly among susceptible populations. However, the impact of consumer demographic characteristics and food handling methods on kitchen microbiomes is not fully understood. The domestic kitchen bacterial communities of ten predominantly low-income families in Houston, TX, were assessed in conjunction with a cross-sectional food safety survey to evaluate differences in household and surface-specific microbiomes and bacterial foodborne pathogen presence. Three kitchen surfaces within each household, including the sink drain, the refrigerator handle, and the counter, were environmentally sampled and metataxonomically evaluated via targeted 16S rRNA sequencing. Disposable dish sponges were also acquired and examined. Results indicated that alpha diversity did not vary by the households, sampling locations, or demographic characteristics evaluated. Significant differences in beta diversity were observed among the bacterial communities of five pairs of households and between refrigerator handle and disposable dish sponge microbiomes. A total of 89 unique bacterial foodborne pathogens were identified across surface types. Each household contained at least one contaminated surface, and the most common bacterial foodborne pathogens identified were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. All parents reported washing their hands before meal preparation, washing fresh fruits and vegetables, and washing cutting boards with soap after use to prepare raw animal proteins. Gaps in food safety behaviors identified included a lack of serious concern for food contamination with germs and inappropriate handwashing, food handling, and cleaning behaviors. The number of unique bacterial foodborne pathogens identified within households was significantly higher among households whose respondent parent reported that they did not consider food contamination with germs to be a serious food safety problem (median: 41.0 species) compared to households whose respondent parent did consider food contamination to be a serious food safety problem (median: 3.0 species; p value = 0.0218). These results demonstrate that domestic kitchen taxonomic abundance profiles vary according to household and surface type. Data suggest that low-income consumers may be at risk of foodborne pathogen exposure from contaminated home kitchen surfaces, and that food safety attitudes may directly contribute to this hazard.

Antimicrobial properties of common household spices on microbes cultured from two kitchen locations

The number of bacterial infections in humans is rising, and a major contributor is foodborne illnesses, which affect a large portion of the population and result in many hospitalizations and deaths. Common household cleaners are an effective strategy to combat foodborne illness, but they are often costly and contain harmful chemicals. Thus, we sought to test the antimicrobial effectiveness of readily available, low cost, and relatively harmless spices (clove, nutmeg, astragalus, cinnamon, turmeric, and garlic) on microbes cultured from refrigerator handles and cutting boards. We hypothesized that cutting boards would have microbes that were more resistant to spices given the properties that make them conducive to microbial growth, whereas the microbes cultured from refrigerator handles would be more prone to the antimicrobial effects of the spices. We found that clove, garlic, and nutmeg were able to completely prevent the growth of microbes from cutting boards. Clove and garlic also prevented microbial growth from refrigerator handle samples, but nutmeg only reduced the growth of these microbes over a week. Similarly, turmeric and cinnamon only reduced the growth of microbes over a week from both culture samples. Our results demonstrate long-lasting, antimicrobial effects of multiple spices that support their use as alternatives to common household cleaners.

Firefighters Fighting Germs - Evaluation of a Disinfecting Protocol for Use in the Fire Service

Background: Pasco County Fire Rescue (PCFR) is a rapidly growing suburban fire department located in Florida. PCFR employs >500 firefighters (all cross-trained as either emergency medical technicians or paramedics) in 27 stations to provide both emergency medical services (EMS) and fire suppression response. Although multiple studies have established that pathogens are present in both apparatus and stations within the fire service, there is a knowledge gap regarding the effectiveness of cleaning and disinfecting protocols in this specific setting. Methods: In total, 65 high-touch surfaces in 11 vehicles (ambulances and engines) and common areas of 2 fire stations were swabbed before and after disinfection. Vehicle surfaces swabbed included seats, cabinet doors, door handles, stretchers, medical equipment, keyboard, steering wheels, shared headsets and hand rails. Inside the stations, the refrigerator handle, television remote, radio and alarm buttons, door handles, and locker handles were swabbed. Immediately following the initial swab collection, the surfaces were disinfected with hydrogen peroxide wipes and disinfectant cleaner sprayed through an electrostatic system. The same surfaces were then swabbed after disinfection. Colony-forming units (CFUs) were quantified using standard microbiological techniques by a third-party laboratory. Statistical analysis was performed on the resulting bacterial counts using Minitab version 18.1 software. Results: We detected statistically significant decreases in total bacteria, yeast, and mold counts following implementation of this disinfection protocol. The predisinfection mean of bacteria, yeast, and mold counts for all surfaces combined was reduced 96% after disinfection (from 254,637 CFU to 9,392 CFU). Conclusions: Cleaning and disinfection of surfaces in PCFR emergency vehicles and fire station common areas with the agents described above effectively reduced contamination with bacteria, yeast, and mold spores. The PCFR has implemented this disinfection protocol as a tool in eliminating EMS vehicles and the station environment as reservoirs of infection for patients, visitors, and firefighters. Future efforts will include assessing the impact of regular cleaning and disinfection on baseline levels of bacteria, yeast, and mold spores.Funding: This study was supported by Clorox.Disclosures: None

An assessment of the hygiene status and incidence of foodborne pathogens on food contact surfaces in the food preparation facilities of schools

The microbial quality of food contact surfaces in the food preparation facilities is an indication of their hygiene status. The objective of this study was to assess the hygiene status and the incidence of pathogens of food contact surfaces in the food preparation facilities of schools offering school feeding programs in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. 192 swab samples were collected by swabbing 100 cm2 areas of food contact surfaces in the food preparation facilities of randomly selected schools. Only 16.2% of the food contact surfaces had satisfactory hygiene status in which the surface aerobic colony counts were less than 2 log cfu/cm2. Only 3% and 6% of the benchtop and dry storage surfaces respectively had a satisfactory hygiene status. Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus were the most detected pathogen on food contact surfaces with 53.1% and 25.5% incidences. There was a strong significant positive correlation between the occurrence of L. monocytogenes on dry storage surfaces and benchtop (rho = 0.539**, p = 0.01), cutting board (rho = 0.541**, p = 0.01), refrigerator handle (rho = 0.420*, p = 0.05), and sink faucet (rho = 0.498**, p = 0.01) surfaces. The Bacillus species was generally detected the most from aerobic growth isolates of food contact sources, among which Bacillus subtilis was the most abundant species identified. Most of the food contact surfaces in the food preparation facilities of schools offering school feeding programs were of unsatisfactory hygiene status and constituted a food safety risk to schoolchildren consuming meals at school.

Evaluation of Staphylococcus spp. in food and kitchen premises of Campinas, Brazil

The current study was aimed to evaluate the occurrence of Staphylococcus in institutional and domestic kitchens, as well as in meals served at child care centers and as desserts in local restaurants of Campinas, Brazil. Recovered isolates were analyzed by qPCR for Staphylococcal Enterotoxin (SE) expression and results compared to the traditional SE detection assay by immunoassay. Six different points (sink, refrigerator handle, stove burner knob, cutting board, cutting knives and dishcloth), were assessed in kitchens of 4 child care centers and 10 domestic kitchens. In addition, the hands and nostrils of the kitchen personnel were sampled. Meals served at the childcare centers (8 chicken meat and 8 chayotes) and desserts containing pastry cream from 10 restaurants were examined for the presence and levels present of Staphylococcus spp. Samples were collected during two distinct periods, and between them (1 month), a lecture regarding “Good practices in food handling” was given to all staff by the authors. Three hundred and twenty colonies (n = 320), typical and atypical belonging to Staphylococcus were recovered from all sampling points. Among 320 recovered colonies, fifty isolates were confirmed as Staphylococcus species (n = 47 from environmental samples and n = 3 from food samples). Also, S. aureus was responsible for the plurality of identified isolates (30%). The highest count for Staphylococcus was measured as 4.52 log10 CFU/50 cm2 on the door handle of a refrigerator. Twelve percent of all tested strains (n = 50) likely expressed enterotoxins, and Staphylococcal Enterotoxin D (SED) was the SE most often (3 out of 6; or 50%) identified. The findings of the current study can be used is establishing guidelines for the improvement of cleanliness and food handling practices in the kitchens of Campinas, Brazil. Ultimately, reducing the occurrence of foodborne disease outbreaks and increased public health.

Poultry Food Safety Control Interventions in the Domestic Kitchen

Research was undertaken to investigate cross-contamination of the domestic kitchen environment during poultry fillet preparation using a streptomycin-resistant strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens as a model organism. The potential role of a cook-in-the-bag technology to control this cross-contamination was also investigated. Poultry fillets were inoculated with P. fluorescens (6.06 log10 CFU/cm2). Six people were challenged to unpack, defrost, cut and cook without contaminating the preparation environment. After preparation, the chopping board, knife blade, dishcloth, refrigerator handle, oven handle, oven buttons, draining board, tap, microwave handle, microwave buttons, plate, tinfoil and press handle were tested for the presence of the P. fluorescens strain, before and after washing. The experiment was then repeated with a precut cook-in-the-bag product. In a separate experiment, the effect of freezing and frozen storage (−20C) on Campylobacter and the sensory attributes of chicken fillets were investigated. The cook-in-the-bag approach considerably reduced the incidence and levels of cross-contamination in the domestic kitchen. Freezing significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the Campylobacter counts on inoculated fillets after 7 days at −20C (1.73 log10 CFU/g). While there was no adverse effect on taste, fillets that had been frozen were significantly more “firm” and “less moist” as compared with fresh product. Practical Applications It was concluded that using cook-in-the-pack technologies would reduced cross-contamination of the domestic kitchen during poultry preparation and Campylobacter could be specifically targeted using freezing/frozen storage.

OHP-028 Effect of a Closed System Device and New Cleaning Procedure on Surface Contamination with Cytostatics

BackgroundThe potential for contamination associated with handling cytostatic drugs exists in the workplace despite compliance with the protective measures for the safe handling of cytostatics.Purpose To investigate the efficacy of...

The STOP (Staff Taking Ownership for Prevention) FLU Initiative: Improving Influenza Vaccination Rates Among Staff in a Long-Term Care Facility

handle, and bathroom stall/door handle. Bacterial contaminationwas assessed using standard quantitative bacterial culture techniques. Results: Four hundred and fourteen students (196men, 217women, 1 transgender), 17-23 years old, completed the survey. Less than half of students were aware that hand washing reduces transmission of colds, flu, and gastroenteritis, and 39.8% believed that hand washing is unimportant to prevent disease (Table 1). More women than men reported handwashing always or most of the time for all indications surveyed and reported that handwashing can prevent colds, flu, and gastroenteritis. More underclassmen than upperclassmen reported hand washing prior to preparing food and eating, but no significant differences were noted between science and humanities majors. Most students (56%) felt that their personal hygienewas the same as others', and only 5% felt theirs was worse. Microbiologic data were collected from the dorms of 40 participants (18men and 22women). Bacterial growth ranged from 0-35 colony forming units (CFUs) with little variation by type of dorm, frequency of cleaning, or frequency of illnesses (Table 2). Staphylococcus aureus was detected in three participants' rooms (on a dish, bookshelf, and remote control), and coliforms were present in six students' rooms (on a remote control, keyboard, desk, light switch, refrigerator handle, bathroom door handle, and three bookshelves). Two of these students reported cleaning daily, three weekly, two monthly, and one never. Conclusions: Despite reporting frequent cleaning, coliforms were found in some students' rooms, on surfaces used for cooking and eating, and on surfaces shared bymultiple students, suggesting that opportunities for transmission may be possible, even when hygienic measures are taken.

Effect of high pressure (HP) on the quality and shelf life of red mullet (Mullus surmelutus)

Abstract The effect of different temperature/time/pressure high hydrostatic pressure (HP) treatment on the quality and shelf life of red mullet were studied. Different high pressure treatments (at 3, 7, 15 and 25 °C, 5 to 10 min and 220, 250 and 330 MPa) were tested to establish the best processing conditions for the quality of red mullet. The effect of the process on the quality of the sample was examined by colour, Trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA-N) and Thiobarbituric acid number (TBA) analysis. Based on the results of the parameters, the best combinations of HP treatments were determined as 220 MPa/5 min/25 °C and 330 MPa/5 min/3 °C for red mullet. The effects of this combination treatment on sensory, chemical and microbiological properties of red mullet stored at 4 °C were studied. The results obtained from this study showed that the shelf life of untreated and HP treated stored at 4 °C, as determined by overall acceptability of sensory and microbiological data, are 12 days for untreated red mullet and 14 days for treated red mullet at 220 MPa for 5 min at 25 °C and 15 days for treated red mullet at 330 MPa for 5 min at 3 °C. Industrial relevance Fresh fish have short shelf life. HP treatment has shown to be an effective method to control pathogen and spoilage microorganisms in fish and fish products. However, high pressure treatment can promote colour and oxidation changes that could modify their sensory characteristics. The main objective of the first part of this study was to detect the best combination among the applied pressure (220, 250 and 330 MPa), temperature (3, 7, 15 and 25 °C) and time (5 and 10 min) combinations. The treatment ranges were chosen according to the unchanging colour, lower TBA value and TMA stability by HP and considering the economical aspects of HP processing. In the second part of the study, HP was applied on the selected samples and a shelf-life study was performed by measuring the changes in the quality parameters, of the samples throughout their storage. The storage conditions were set so as to achieve refrigeration handling (4 °C). Shelf-life estimation was performed according to the data obtained. HP (at 220 MPa for 5 min at 25 °C and at 330 MPa for 5 min at 3 °C) treatment is the most effective treatment for shelf-life extension as compared to non-treated red mullet.

Bacterial contamination of domestic kitchens over a 24‐hour period

PurposeMany cases of food poisoning originate in the domestic environment and can be associated with improper food handling and ineffective cleaning by consumers. These practices could lead to the introduction and spread of bacterial contamination in the kitchen and if not subsequently removed could present an infection risk. This study proposes investigating changes in levels of bacterial contamination at five key sites in ten domestic kitchens during a period of 24 hours.Design/methodology/approachMicrobiological swabs were used to provide an aerobic colony count and an Enterobacteriacea count. A record was kept of cooking, cleaning and other activities within the kitchen.FindingsResults showed that contamination levels varied during the day, peaking after meal preparation and generally falling overnight. There was also indirect evidence of cross contamination, particularly from hands to other surfaces. Sites such as the refrigerator handle, kettle handle and taps, which generally only come into contact with hands, show increases in the levels of contamination recorded. Levels of microbiological contamination were lower in vegetarian than non‐vegetarian households. A variety of data showed that non‐food preparation activities also take place in the kitchen. These could also introduce bacterial contamination into the kitchen and facilitate their spread.Originality/valueThe implications of these results are that the most important time for cleaning in the kitchen is immediately after food has been prepared, with attention focussing on high risk areas such as the work surface, chopping board, taps and other hand contact surfaces.