MICROBIOLOGY AND FOOD HYGIENE IN PUBLIC FOOD SERVICES
There is need to improve on hygienic practises in public food service outlets in order to obtain relatively safe products for consumption and there were significant correlations between bacteriological quality and temperature of storage, food hygiene training and waste product management policies.
Abstract
A microbiological survey of ready-to-eat food samples using validated methods was performed on 150 samples from 30 public food premises. The determinants investigated were aerobic and anaerobic colony counts, total Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp. and Clostridium spp., Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Results indicated that using current guidelines for ready-to-eat foods, only 13% of samples were satisfactory, 15.6% were acceptable and 71.4% were of unsatisfactory quality. Unsatisfactory results were due to the presence of high aerobic colony counts, E. coli, total Enterobacteriaceae and S. aureus. There were significant correlations between bacteriological quality and temperature of storage, food hygiene training and waste product management policies. This study on the microbiology of ready-to-eat foods suggests that there is need to improve on hygienic practises in public food service outlets in order to obtain relatively safe products for consumption.