An exploratory study of food safety and food handling: Examining ready-to-eat foods in independent delicatessen operations

Abstract

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2009) reports that each year 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur with over 300,000 people hospitalized and 5000 deaths. This study, phase I of a continuing study, identifies key areas for food safety improvement. This study is designed as an exploratory evaluation of independently owned and operated delicatessen operations, using Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as indicators to assess food handling and the public’s risk for pathogenic contamination from commonly served ready-to-eat/take-away foods. The analysis consisted of a comprehensive strategy of laboratory testing of samples for pathogenic contamination, informal field observation of food handling procedures, and the examination of the most recent health inspection reports for each of the 18 operations visited. The deli turkey, cream cheese and lettuce were tested using bacteria indicator plates. The results showed widespread levels of contamination. Of the 54 samples tested for Escherichia coli, 26 showed positive results which are ~45% for E. coli contamination. Of the 54 samples tested for Staphy-lococcus aureus, 31 showed positive results which are ~57% for S. aureus contamination. One issue discovered while conducting the study was the lack of consistent uniform international standards of contamination tolerance levels. The informal field observations and health report analyses revealed widespread temperature violations and numerous instances of poor food handling. The study offers independent practitioners a strategy designed to improve their health inspections scores, food handling, and mitigation of operator liability. Independent operators traditionally do not enjoy the resources of centralized supervision and expert on-staff training; yet in aggregate they account for significant volume in both dollars and the quantity of product served. This study adds needed scrutiny to this important food niche.

Share and Cite:

Murray, D. , Feldman, C. , Lee, L. and Schuckers, C. (2013) An exploratory study of food safety and food handling: Examining ready-to-eat foods in independent delicatessen operations. Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology, 4, 430-436. doi: 10.4236/abb.2013.43A057.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Olsen, S., MacKinnon, L., Goulding, J., Bean, N. and Slutsker, L. (2000) Surveillance for foodborne disease outbreaks—United States 1993-1997. MMWR CDC Surveillance Summaries, 49, 1-62.
[2] Frash, R., Alamanza, B. and Stahura, J. (2003) Assessments of food safety risk: A case study in Marion county, Indiana. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 4, 25-44. doi:10.1300/J149v04n04_02
[3] Phillips, M., Elledge, B., Basara, H., Lynch, R. and Boatright, D. (2006) Recurrent critical violations of the food code in retail food service establishments. Journal of Environmental Health, 68, 24-30.
[4] Murphy, K., DiPietro, R., Kock, G. and Lee, J. (2011) Does mandatory food safety training and certification for restaurant employees improve inspection outcomes? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30, 150-156. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2010.04.007
[5] Green, L. and Selman, C. (2005) Environmental health specialists’ practices and beliefs concerning restaurant inspections. Paper presented at the 92 Annual International Association for Food Protection, Baltimore.
[6] Hedberg, C., Smith, S. and Kirkland, E. (2006) Systematic environmental evaluations to identify food safety differences between outbreak and non-outbreak restaurants. Journal of Food Protection, 69, 2697-2702.
[7] Center for Disease Control (2012) General information. http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety
[8] Ackers, M., Mahon, B., Leahy, E., Goode, B., Damrow, T., Hayes, P. and Slutsker, L. (1998) An outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections associated with leaf lettuce consumption. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 177, 1588-1593. doi:10.1086/515323
[9] Kaneko, K., Hayashidani, H., Ohtomo, Y., Kosuge, J., Kato, M., Takahashi, K. and OgaWa, M. (1999) Bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods and fresh products in retail shops and food factories. Journal of Food Protection, 62, 644-649.
[10] Sharma, M., Patel, J., Conway, W., Ferguson, S. and Sulakvelidze, A. (2009) Effectiveness of bacteriophages in reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 on fresh-cut cantaloupes and lettuce. Journal of Food Protection, 72, 1481-1485.
[11] Sivapalasingam, S., Friedman, C., Cohen, L. and Tauxe, R. (2004) Fresh produce: A growing cause of outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States. Journal of Food Protection, 67, 2342-2353.
[12] Soriano, J., Rico, H., Molto, C. and Manes, J. (2001) Incidence of microbial flora in lettuce, meat, and Spanish potato omelet from restaurants. Food Microbiology, 18, 159-163. doi:10.1006/fmic.2000.0386
[13] Brzuszkiewicz, E., Thumer, A., Schuldes, J., Leimbach, A., Liesegang, H., Meyer, F. and Daniel, R. (2011) Genome sequence analyses of two isolates from the recent Escherichia coli outbreak in Germany reveal the emergence of a new pathotype: Entero-Aggregative-Hemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EAHEC). Archives of Microbiology, 193, 883-891. doi:10.1007/s00203-011-0725-6
[14] Gould, D. (2011) MRSA: Implications for hospitals and nursing homes. Nursing Standard, 25, 47-56.
[15] Rhee, C. and Woo, G. (2010) Emergence and characterization of foodborne methicillin-resistant staphylococcus in Korea. Journal of Food Protection, 73, 2285-2290.
[16] Barker-Reid, F., Harapas, D., Engleitner, S., Kreidl, S. and Faggian, R. (2009) Persistence of Escherichia coli on injured iceberg lettuce in the field, overhead irrigated with contaminated water. Journal of Food Protection, 72, 458-464.
[17] Franz, E. and Vanruggen, A. (2008) Ecology of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in the primary vegeta-ble production chain. Critical Reviews in Microbiology, 34, 143-161. doi:10.1080/10408410802357432
[18] Feng, P., Weagant, S., Grant, M. and Burkhardt, W. (2012) Bacteriological analytical manual chapter 4 enumeration of Escherichia coli and the coliform bacteria. http://www.fda.gov/food/scienceresearch/laboratorymethods/bacteriologicalanalyticalmanualbam/ucm064948.htm
[19] Kim, H., Griffiths, M., Fazil, A. and Lammerding, A. (2009) Probabilistic risk model fro Staphylococcal intoxication from pork-based food dishes prepared in food service establishments in Korea. Journal of Food Protection, 72, 1897-1908.
[20] Tan, A., Beaton, S., Dimovski, K., Hogg, G., di Paola, V. and Haines, H. (2008) Pathogen survival in portioned retail soft cheeses. Australian Journal of Dairy Technology, 63, 39-44.
[21] Clayton, D. and Griffith, C. (2004) Observation of food safety practices in catering using notational analysis. British Food Journal, 106, 211-227. doi:10.1108/00070700410528790
[22] Kennedy, J., Nolan, A., Gibney, S., O’Brian, S. and MacMahon, M. (2011) Determinants of cross-contamination during home food preparation. British Food Journal, 113, 280-297. doi:10.1108/00070701111105349
[23] Rodriguez, M., Valero, A., Posada-Izquierdo, G., Carrasco, E. and Zurera, G. (2011) Evaluation of food handler practices and microbiological status of ready-to-eat foods in long term care facilities in the Andalusia region of Spain. Journal of Food Protection, 74, 1504-1512. doi:10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-10-468
[24] Lahou, E., Jacxsens, L., Vanlandeghem, F. and Uyttendaele, M. (2012) Microbiological performance of a food safety management system in a food service operation. Journal of Food Protection, 75, 706-716. doi:10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-11-260
[25] Tompkins, B. (2011) E. coli infections... This practice profile is based on NS537 Gould, G. (2010) Causes and treatment of Escherichia coli infections. Nursing Standard, 25, 51-60.
[26] Reske, K., Jenkins, T., Fernandez, C., VanAmber, D. and Hedberg, C. (2007) Beneficial effects of implementing an announced restaurant inspection program. Journal of Environmental Health, 69, 27-34.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.