Handling practices and bacteriological quality of fresh vegetable salads served in food service establishments in Mwanza city
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Date
2024
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Food service establishments (FSE) offer a wide variety of foods,
including the ready-to-eat (RTE) cold foods like fresh vegetable
salads; also known as Kachumbari in Tanzania. Kachumbari, is often
consumed raw without any further preparation or processing that
could completely eliminate or substantially reduce pathogens to
acceptable levels. Therefore, this salad is potentially risky if not well
handled. The objective of this study was to assess handling practices
and bacteriological quality of Kachumbari prepared and served in FSE
in Mwanza City, Tanzania. A cross-sectional study involving thirty food
handlers from 10 restaurants and 20 street food vending sites was
conducted from March to April 2023. A semi-structured questionnaire
and observation checklist were used to collect data on handling
practices. In parallel, thirty samples of Kachumbari, along with 30
swabs from hands and chopping boards were collected and analyzed.
The assessment of handling practices indicated that 93.3% of the food
service establishments lacked formal food handling training, and
66.7% did not prioritize clean-as-you-go practices for food safety.
Moreover, only 26.6% underwent annual medical checkups at work
places. The majority of the handlers (66.7%) demonstrated a poor
understanding of food safety principles and procedures. On the other
hand, the bacteriological quality analysis revealed high contamination
levels of total bacterial counts (ranging from 4.8 to 6.7 log CFU/g),
Staphylococcus aureus (<1 to 6.7 log CFU/g), and Escherichia coli
(<1 to 6.7 log CFU/g). All Kachumbari samples (100%) were
unsatisfactory, and 17 (56.7%) had unsatisfactory E. coli levels.
Moreover, 22 samples (73.3%) had unsatisfactory S. aureus levels,
and 10 samples (33.3%) showed unsatisfactory Salmonella ssp.
contamination. Also, chopping boards and hands had higher total
counts ranging from 3.5 – 4.7 log CFU.cm -2. The comparison of
microbiological contamination levels between plastic and chopping
boards, demonstrated that Kachumbari chopped on wooden chopping
boards had statistically significantly higher S. aureus contamination
levels (p < 0.05), than the one sliced on plastic cutting boards. Based
on these findings, we recommend regular training in hygiene and safe
handling of food among handlers to enhance handling practices.
Furthermore, relevant government authorities should conduct frequent
inspections and supervision in food service establishments to promote personal hygiene and overall safety throughout the food value chain,
thus, ensuring the quality and safety of vegetable salads in food
service establishments in Mwanza City and Tanzania as a whole.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Vegetable Salads, Kachumbari, Handling Practices, Bacteriological Quality, Safety, Mwanza City, Tanzania.