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The global interest in handling food has increased over the years. Greater handling raises the risk of contamination, also in the backed food. The aim of this study is to understand the type and level of microbial contamination in the food that is served along happy hour in the bars/coffee. This pilot study was performed from April to May 2018 in a city of central Italy (<60,000 citizens). Ten bars were randomly selected. Samples of peanuts and potatoes were obtained in three different moments, at beginning (T0), in the middle (T1), at the end (T2) of aperitifs. Collection of specimens was obtained using sterile kit and laboratory analysis was conduced in the University lab. The samples were located on selective medium and the growth of microbial pathogens were checked at 24 and 48?hours. The tested microorganisms were Enterococci, Staphylococci, Coliforms bacteria and yeasts. The statistical analyses were conducted using Wilcoxon test for statistical significance (p<0,05). A significant yeasts contamination appeared only on potatoes at T0 (p<0,05), while within T0 and T1 we found a significant increase of Enterococci, Staphylococci and yeasts (p<0,05) both in peanuts and potatoes. Comparing T1 and T2 only yeasts showed a significant growth in potatoes (p=0,04). Between T0 and T2 we highlighted a growth of Enterococci, Staphylococci and yeasts (p<0,05) in both sample types, but we also found a growth of coliforms bacteria in peanuts (p=0,03). We showed an increase in the microbial load associated with food handling, mostly of Enterococci. Long time of exposition increased the likelihood of contamination and the possibility to exceed the dose for the occurrence of disease. Offering small portions of handling food would reduce the manipulation by participants and the risk of food-borne outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Lack of a high level of disinfection/sterilization may occur in hostile conditions, emergency situations or remote locations. Consequently, it is life-threatening. WHO best practices guideline on emergency surgical care in disaster situations are based on "standard" methods of disinfection/sterilization. While effective, they require multi-step procedures which may not be compatible with the timeframe. We the research is to test a portable and practical UV-C LED box for a high-level disinfection or sterilization. METHODS: A pilot crossover study with a pre/post comparison was carried out in November 2017 in our laboratory. A box reactor with several sources of UV-C Led lights was designed for containing surgical instruments. The device has a battery which may be charged by a solar panel or a micro usb socket. The instruments were polluted (20 μl of solution at 1.5 × 10^3 CFU/μl) with Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens. Matched samples, controls and treatments, were prepared for 10-minute UV-C irradiation. Samples were taken with sterile swabs, shaken in 3 ml of phosphate buffered saline solution and 100 μl were seed in selective soil. Petri dishes were incubated at 36°C for 48 h and microbial contamination measured as CFU. RESULTS: The controls had an average bacterial charge of Staphylococcus aureus of 81 (SD 79) CFU/100μl; 41.8 (SD 28.7) CFU/100μl of Enterococcus faecalis, 3.5 (SD 1.7) CFU/100μl of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 61.8 (SD 14.0) CFU/100μl of Serratia marcescens. No bacterial growth was detected in any of the treated samples. CONCLUSIONS: The UV-C device provides a high disinfection level in 10 minutes and its pocket size makes it easy to transport. In addition, the option to recharge the battery with sunlight, allows you to use it in remote locations where [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]