Handlers' hygiene practices in small restaurants of Vadodara

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the hygiene and sanitation practices of restaurant food handlers of urban Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 55 food handlers were purposively selected, to study their personal hygiene and unit hygiene practices using semi‐structured questionnaire and observation schedules, from 40 small and medium‐sized restaurants of urban Vadodara. Microbial analysis of five samples, namely, hand rinse sample, table mop cloth, towel, knife and plate swabs was carried out to determine the total plate count and presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Coliform counts, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli 0157:H7.

Findings

Most food handlers exhibited poor personal hygiene and poor personal habits. E. coli 0157:H7 was detected in two out of three knife samples and table mop cloth samples; Salmonella was detected in one of the table mops cloths and two hand towel samples, respectively. Two of the table mop cloth samples also indicated presence of Shigella.

Research limitations/implications

The survey of food handlers implies gross violation of codex guidelines laid down for safe cooking and services practices for small and medium‐sized restaurants.

Practical implications

Consumption of foods at small and medium‐sized restaurants of urban Vadodara poses a high risk for the consumers.

Originality/value

This is an original study which should act as an eye opener for the food safety officers who need to enforce the food safety laws more stringently, so as to reduce the risk of outbreaks of food borne illnesses in the city of Vadodara.

Citation

Sheth, M., Gupta, A. and Ambegaonkar, T. (2011), "Handlers' hygiene practices in small restaurants of Vadodara", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 41 No. 6, pp. 386-392. https://doi.org/10.1108/00346651111181930