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Introduction Improper or slow cooling of hot foods is a significant cause of foodborne illnesses, such as those caused by Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus (Schaffner et al., 2015). Improper [...], Pathogen growth caused by improper or slow cooling of hot foods was a contributing factor in 504 of restaurant- and deli-related outbreaks in the U.S. from 1998-2008. Little is known, however, about restaurant cooling practices. To fill this gap, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net) conducted an observational study to identify and understand factors that might determine which methods restaurants follow to rapidly cool food. These methods include refrigerating food at [less than or equal to] 41 [degrees]F, at shallow depths, and in containers that are ventilated, unstacked, and have space around them. EHS-Net personnel collected data through manager interviews and observation of cooling processes in 420 randomly selected restaurants. Regression analyses revealed characteristics of restaurants most likely to use the cooling methods assessed. These characteristics included ownership by restaurant chains, manager food safety training and certification, few foods cooled at a time, many meals served daily, and a high ratio of workers to managers. These findings suggest that regulatory food safety programs and the retail industry might improve cooling methods--and reduce outbreaks--by providing and encouraging manager food safety training and certification, and by focusing intervention efforts on independent and smaller restaurants.

Protein deficiency affects more than 170 million pre-school children and nursing mothers in developing countries creating a need for a strategy to improve the nutritional status of their diet through supplementation with plant proteins. The nutritional value of Treculia africana (African Breadfruit) has been extensively studied under laboratory conditions. Although the Breadfruit tree grows wildly in some West and Central African countries, and its seeds eaten in various forms by the populace, there has not been an attempt to evaluate its nutritive value as prepared at the home level. The goal of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the nutritive value of the seeds as indigenously prepared by the general populace in order to determine the suitability of its use as a good complementary diet. The raw seeds purchased in the Ikenne local government area (LGA) of Ogun State, Nigeria were subjected to cooking and toasting methods (using firewood) as practiced in the area. A proximate analysis was performed on the three samples (Raw, Cooked and Toasted) in order to evaluate the composition and some anti-nutritional factors of the Breadfruit seeds. Results showed that the cooked and toasted samples had better nutritive values as compared with the raw seeds; the mean % protein content of the raw, cooked and toasted samples were 16.32[+ or -]0.09, 18.25 [+ or -]0.00 and 17.22[+ or -]0.04, respectively. Ash content was 1.36[+ or -]0.057, 1.86[+ or -]0.042 and 1.83[+ or -]0.007, respectively, fat was 10.98[+ or -]0.071, 11.50[+ or -]0.134 and 13.74[+ or -]0.233, respectively and crude fiber was 1.25[+ or -]0.007, 2.13[+ or -]0.014 and 2.39[+ or -]0.064, respectively. The tannin level was higher in cooked and toasted seeds than in the raw seeds but was not in toxic amounts (1.19gm, 3.50 and 2.32 in the raw, cooked and toasted seeds, respectively). Phytate levels were generally lower in the cooked and toasted seeds; at 2.85%, 1.99%, and 2.24% for raw, cooked and toasted seeds, respectively. This study showed that the two major modes of preparation of the African Breadfruit seeds retained high levels of nutrients with lower levels of anti-nutrients. The resulting meal/snack will be useful as a good complementary diet for the African child, especially in areas where it grows wildly as it will provide a more viable alternative to the currently known and consumed weaning diets among the rural population. Toasting the African Breadfruit seed will be particularly helpful for working mothers who require ready to eat food as the moisture content was lowered (and by extension the shelf life increased) by this method of processing.Key words: Toasting, Proximate composition, Anti-nutritional factors, African Breadfruit, Complementary diet, INTRODUCTIONProtein deficiency affects more than 170 million preschoolers and nursing mothers in developing countries [1]. The existing population growth reveals that the protein gap may gradually increase in the future [...]