On-site and one-year monitoring of food service business risks associated with poor hygiene quality in the catering establishments for consumer protection

Abstract

Hygiene is essential in foodservices to prevent food safety and public health issues. Implementation of food safety legislation represents a sine qua non obligation of the foodservice business. In this study, we aimed to monitor the foodservice business risks associated with poor hygiene quality in the catering establishments for consumer protection. To do this, a total of 504 samples (144 from food handlers’ hands, 144 from tools and surfaces, 144 from prepared foods, and 72 from the water) was collected. Contamination frequencies between the sampling groups were statistically analyzed (p < .01). Microbiological results showed that 62.5% in food handlers’ hands, 44% in tools and surfaces, 27% in foods, and 7% in the water were contaminated with mesophilic aerobic bacteria (64.6%), coliforms (47.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (34.7%), Escherichia coli (25.7%), Citrobacter freundii (1.4%), and Listeria monocytogenes (0.7%), whereas no Salmonella was detected. All the test prior powers among the sampling groups were strong (=1.000), the differences and effects’ sizes were large enough, and statistically significant (p <.01). Overall, awareness about hygiene in the food services needs to be improved, and the uncertainties linked to poor hygiene quality should be identified for competitiveness and efficiency of the sector.