TY  - JOUR
AB  - 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.
VL  - 41
IS  - 6
SN  - 0034-6659
DO  - 10.1108/00346651111181930
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/00346651111181930
AU  - Sheth Mini
AU  - Gupta Ashima
AU  - Ambegaonkar Tejal
PY  - 2011
Y1  - 2011/01/01
TI  - Handlers' hygiene practices in small restaurants of Vadodara
T2  - Nutrition & Food Science
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 386
EP  - 392
Y2  - 2024/04/16
ER  -