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Cutting boards used for ready-to-eat (RTE) foods in most restaurants are often contaminated with bacteria, leading to foodborne illnesses. The present work aimed to detect the contamination of aerobic bacteria, coliform, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus on cutting boards, and to evaluate the levels of cleanliness of long-hours restaurants around Klang Valley, Malaysia. The examination of bacterial contamination was conducted by swabbing cutting boards from 33 restaurants. The findings showed that the numbers of aerobic bacteria were within the range of 3.95 to 7.07 log10 CFU/cm², namely coliform (< 1.00 to 5.58 log10 CFU/cm²), E. coli (< 1.00 log10 CFU/cm²), S. aureus (< 1.00 to 2.90 log10 CFU/cm²), and Salmonella spp. They were detected from 12% (n = 4/33) of cutting boards. At the same time, the levels of restaurants’ cleanliness were A at 3% (n = 1/33), and both B and C at 48.5% (n = 16/33). There was no significant (p > 0.05) association between the contamination of coliform (χ² = 1.096), Salmonella spp. (χ² = 0.004), and S. aureus (χ² = 0.437) with the levels of restaurants’ cleanliness. Therefore, the present work concluded that the contamination of bacteria on the cutting boards was not affected by the levels of cleanliness based on swabbing food contact surfaces to evaluate the microbial status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to develop a hygienic-sanitary profile of an institutional Food and Nutrition Unit (FNU), by assessing the use of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) before and after the implementation of food Quality Management Tools. In order to accomplish that, the authors employed a checklist to conduct a descriptive research on the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the FNU, and to assert whether the GMPs are efficient or not, the authors also assess the microbiological contamination of equipment, utensils, food handlers' hands, hot meals (rice, beans and meat) and cold meals (raw lettuce, beetroot, carrot and cabbage salads) after the implantation of Quality Management tools. Before their implementation, the FNU was sorted into Group III ("Deficient" - 0 to 50% of analyzed items) in all three studied sectors; afterwards, however, it was moved into Group II (51 to 75% of analyzed items). As a result, the researchers did not detect any contamination with coagulase-positive Staphylococcus, Salmonella spp or sulfite-reducing Clostridium at the temperature of 115°F (46°C) in any of the analyzed foodstuffs. However, they did observe the presence of coliforms at 113°F (45°C) in the raw lettuce, carrot, beetroot and cabbage salads. The microbiological quality of the rice, beans and meat samples was satisfactory. Neither coliforms at 113°F (45°C) nor coagulasepositive Staphylococcus were found in equipment or utensils. The food handlers' hands were free of thermotolerant coliforms, while only two of them were contaminated with coagulasepositive Staphylococcus. The study concludes that implemmenting Quality Management Tools, particularly the GMPs, is one of the basic requirements for consumers' health in the preparation of food; nevertheless, such tools must be paired with a periodic supervision by qualified especialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 85 food handlers participated in this study to determine the hygienic status of their hands in primary schools located in the state of Selangor (Malaysia). Overall findings revealed that the fecal contamination and personal hygiene of the food handlers were well maintained with the range of mean bacterial counts from 0.18 to 0.47 log10 Colony Forming Units/cm2 during the three intervals of hand swabbing (before, during and after) preparation of ready-to-eat foods. However, the general indication of the microbiological quality (Aerobic Plate Count) was out of the standard (range of mean bacterial counts from 1.39 to 1.56 log10 Colony Forming Units/cm2) based on previous literature. This study highlighted that the food handler's adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures was insufficient and suggested that attention should be emphasized on their practices at the intervals of school recess: before, during and after the preparation of ready-to-eat foods. In addition, there is also a need in the implementation of an effective HACCP program in Malaysia school foodservice operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]