Comparisons of Microbiological Evaluations of Selected Kitchen Areas with Visual Inspections for Preventing Potential Risk of Foodborne Outbreaks in Food Service Operations

Abstract

Most local health departments utilize visual, but not microbiological, methods when inspecting food service operations. To evaluate the marginal utility of microbial testing for minimizing potential risks of foodborne outbreaks in restaurants, swab samples were taken from handwashing sink faucets, freshly cleaned and sanitized food-contact surfaces, and from cooler or freezer door handles in 70 of 350 category-three (high-risk) food service operations in Toledo, Ohio. The swabs were inoculated onto different selective media, and standard procedures were used to identify pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria. Microbiological evaluations of the sampled food service operations were compared with visual inspection reports, using a numeric rating scale. Enteric bacteria (that may indicate fecal contamination) were found on food contact surfaces, on cooler or freezer door handles, and on handwashing sink faucets in 86, 57, and 53% of the food service operations, respectively. Approximately 27, 40, and 33% of the restaurants received visual ratings of very poor to poor, fair, and good to very good, respectively. In comparison, 10, 17, and 73% of the restaurants received microbiological rating scores of very poor to poor, fair, and good to very good, respectively. Restaurants with trained personnel received significantly higher visual rating scores than restaurants without trained personnel (P < 0.01). Although more restaurants received poor rating scores by visual inspection than by microbiological evaluation, the presence of fecal bacteria from different sites in more than 50% of the food service operations indicated that visual inspection alone might not be sufficient for minimizing potential risk for foodborne disease outbreaks. Therefore, we recommend periodic microbiological evaluation of high-risk food service operations, in addition to visual inspection, for minimizing the risk of foodborne disease outbreaks.

Catering services and HACCP: Temperature assessment and surface hygiene control before and after audits and a specific training session

“…Microbiological analysis of surfaces has been proven to be an effective tool for assessing the cleaning practices that are carried out in a kitchen and for improving hygienic behaviors in food handlers and making them more permanent. Therefore, coinciding with the opinion of other authors, we propose regular monitoring of work surfaces by means of microbial counts because this demonstrates the level of cleanliness more objectively than by means of visual inspection (Kassa et al, 2001). However, there are currently no existing microbiological criteria in Spain for evaluating hygiene of surfaces in catering kitchens.…”

Food safety and the contract catering companies: Food handlers, facilities and HACCP evaluation

“…Typically, this monitoring is carried out by direct observation, although regular microbiological checks using contact agar plates are recommended because they provide more accurate and objective data (Kassa, Harrington, Bisesi, & Khuder, 2001). Since there are no established limits (CFU/cm 2 ) for considering a surface to be clean in the catering industry in Spain, an evaluation of cleanliness of utensils and equipment was performed, using the acceptable limit of ≤50 CFU/25cm 2 based on reference literature (Moragas & De Pablo, 2010;Forsythe & Hayes, 1998;Nortje et al, 1990;Orefice, 1984;Patterson, 1971) and our laboratory experience (more than 3000 surface samples analyzed).…”

Automatic Vending-Machines Contamination: A Pilot Study

“…In Italy the provision of food and beverages through This system identifies the risks for human health and the safety and preventive measures for their elimination and/or their control (Dragoni & Bonomi, 2008). Kassa et al (2001) also stated the importance of direct visual inspection, as another measure for preventing potential risk of food-borne illnesses (Hall et al, 2007;Kassa, Harrington, Bisesi, & Khuder, 2001). As mentioned above, previous studies focused on hygiene and contamination of the internal mechanical parts of the vending machines, on the microbiological quality of the powders used to prepare the beverages, and/or on the beverages direct contamination (Hall et al, 2007;Nelms et al, 1997;Vallone & Bonomi, 2013).…”