Microbial Quality and Safety of Sushi Prepared with Gloved or Bare Hands: Food Handlers' Impact on Retail Food Hygiene and Safety

Abstract

Food handlers play an important role in retail food hygiene and safety. This study was conducted to better understand the impact of food handlers on the microbiological quality and safety of sushi and ingredients handled by gloved and bare hands. At retail premises, food handlers were asked to prepare a batch of sushi with raw fish followed by a batch of sushi with cooked ingredients. Food (sushi and ready-to-eat ingredients), hand, and glove samples were collected for analysis of overall microorganisms (standard plate counts) and targeted foodborne bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes. Results suggested that cross-contamination was more prevalent at premises where bare hands were used to prepare sushi. When bare hands were used, significantly higher standard plate counts were obtained from samples of cooked rice (2.3 to 4.9 log CFU/g) and sushi (2.8 to 6.9 log CFU/g) and the prevalence of S. aureus in samples was higher on food (21.7%, 28 of 129 samples) and hands (30%, 18 of 60 samples) (P < 0.05). Glove changing in combination with hand washing minimized cross-contamination during sushi preparation as indicated by the lower prevalence of S. aureus (0%, 0 of 28 samples) and total targeted foodborne bacteria (3.6%, 1 of 28 samples) on the gloves of food handlers who changed gloves and washed their hands compared with those handlers who did not don new gloves. Repeated use of dishcloths could be a cause of cross-contamination, and the prevalence of total targeted foodborne bacteria was significantly higher on hands dried with dishcloths (64.7%, 11 of 17 samples) than on hands dried with paper towels (12.5%, 1 of 8 samples) (P < 0.05). The prevalences of B. cereus, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella in the 356 food samples were 5.1% (18 samples), 0.8% (3 samples), and 0%, respectively. Improvements to hand washing, hand drying, and glove changing practices are needed to lower the occurrence of cross-contamination during sushi preparation.

Scientific Evidence Supports the Use of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers as an Effective Alternative to Hand Washing in Retail Food and Food Service Settings When Heavy Soiling Is Not Present on Hands

“…Handling ready-to-eat foods with bare hands can result in cross-contamination of foods by pathogens present on food handlers' hands (175). An FDA report (159) on food service risk factors stated "preventing bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods is a major control measure for limiting the spread of harmful bacteria and viruses from the hands to ready-to-eat food."…”

“…¶ (H) Before donning gloves to initiate a task that involves working with food. The hands of food workers can become contaminated with pathogens by handling contaminated raw food, dirty surfaces, or themselves during a variety of activities (66,106,133,165,175). In a laboratory-based study where hands were artificially contaminated with a foodborne pathogen surrogate, washing hands before donning gloves significantly reduced contamination of the outside of the gloves and reduced contamination of food subsequently handled with gloved hands (122).…”

“…Gloves are especially important when dealing with raw animal products or when engaging in other activities that may result in hands becoming dirty or contaminated with large amounts of organic substances or high levels of pathogens (106). Wearing gloves can also prevent transmission of pathogens from bare hands to various food items, including ready-toeat foods (105,108,122,147,175). The lack of specificity of the Food Code recommendation may account in part for differences in glove policies in retail establishments.…”

Microbiological Contamination in Different Food Service Units Associated with Food Handling

“…Indeed, a pathogenic microorganism can remain viable in cutting boards and food contact surfaces [6][7][8] demanding the rigorous cleaning and disinfection of kitchen utensils, equipment and surfaces [9,10]. Hands of food handlers have also been considered an important determinant of microbiological contamination of food and washing hands plays a valuable role in preventing the transmission of foodborne illnesses [4,11,12]. Staphylococcus aureus colonizes the nasopharynx of asymptomatic carriers leading to the contamination of the hands of food handlers [13,14].…”

The genomic characterisation and comparison of Bacillus cereus strains isolated from indoor air

“…More recently, the Annual Communicable Diseases Surveillance report published by the Ministry of Health (Communicable Diseases Surveillance report 2018) in Singapore documented 398 notifications of food poisoning involving 3165 cases in 2018 and B. cereus was among the top three suspects of the reported outbreaks. Several other investigations demonstrated that B. cereus contamination can arise after improper handling of food and raw vegetables, poor hygienic practices of food handlers, and also from polluted environments, including the air [17][18][19].…”