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Hazard analyses (which included watching operations, measuring temperatures of foods throughout preparation and display, and sampling and testing for microorganisms of concern) were conducted of vending operations at a railway and a bus station in a large city in Pakistan. Commonly prepared foods which were surveyed included: rice, pulses, chick peas, ground meat and potato mixtures, meat stew, and okra. Temperatures were measured and samples were collected from a variety of other foods. Large numbers (104–7) of Clostridium perfringens were isolated from samples of pulses, ground meat dishes, and chick peas collected during display, 8 to 10 h after cooking. Aerobic colony counts were also high in these and other foods that were held for several hours, unless hot, at temperatures >55°C throughout the holding periods or periodic reheating practiced (which was done by a few vendors). Cooking was usually thorough, but spores survived which germinated during the display period. High temperature holding or periodic reheating maintained safe foods, and hence, are critical control points for these operations. Education about these matters ought to be directed at health and transportation authorities, vendors, and the public.

Hazard analyses (which included watching operations, measuring temperatures of foods throughout preparation and display, and sampling and testing for microorganisms of concern) were conducted of vending operations of chicken, rice, pulse patties, and ice cream in a resort town in Pakistan. Salmonellae were isolated from ground meat, chicken flesh (from all operations surveyed), cutting boards, egg shells (eggs used in pulse patties), and buffalo milk (used for milk shakes). Greater than 105 coliform bacteria were isolated from raw milk, ice-cream mixes and products, and pulse-patty mix. Time-temperature exposure during cooking was adequate to kill salmonellae, but there were potentials for recontamination from cutting boards, knives, and hands of the vendor. Buffalo milk was held in a freezer and not boiled by the vendor as is usual in Pakistani homes to retard spoilage. Hence, because pathogens were not killed, milk shakes were a health risk. Pulse patties were not always thoroughly cooked, so pathogens could have survived. Holding stacks of them on a griddle for several hours would have allowed germination and growth of bacterial spores and growth of resulting cells. Health agency personnel in developing countries, vendors, and consumers of these foods need to be informed of the hazards and appropriate preventive measures.

A hazard analysis (which included watching operations, measuring temperatures of foods throughout preparation and display, and sampling and testing for microorganisms of concern) was conducted of a street vendor's operation. Chat is a popular dish in certain areas of Pakistan. It consists of sliced cooked potatoes, fried graham and pulse dough, and chick peas or red beans garnished with lasi (a fermented milk) and a fruit syrup. Staphylococci reached the cooked potatoes during peeling, cutting, and other handling. These bacteria increased up to 105 while the contaminated foods were held for several hours. Counts up to 105 Bacillus cereus were isolated from the cooked doughs after a 6-h or longer holding period. Large numbers (usually >105) of coliform bacteria and aerobic mesophilic colonies (106–9) were isolated from all foods after handling and holding for several hours. Ingestion of these foods must be considered high risk unless handling of cooked items can be kept to a minimum and the time of holding reduced to less than 6 h. Critical control points are handling after cooking and holding on display. Health agency personnel in developing countries, vendors, and consumers of these foods need to be informed of the hazards and appropriate preventive measures.

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Hazards of milk-based products were conducted in three confectionery manufacturing shops in a city in Pakistan. The incoming khoa (a heat-concentrated milk product having a water activity of approximately 0.97) was initially contaminated with staphylococci and contained enterotoxin. The confectionery was subsequently cooked to temperatures that would be lethal to staphylococci, but staphylococci were often found in high numbers in the finished products. Recontamination occurred during handling. Khoa-filled confectionery and confectionery made from renin-processed cheese were contaminated by salmonellae. The contaminants reached the products either during cooling or handling after cooking. Multiplication occurred in the warm environment of the shop and may continue in products having high water activity during transport and within retail outlets. Critical control points are source of ingredients (particularly khoa), formulation, cooking (except for preformed enterotoxins), cooling, and cold storage. Milk-based products of the types evaluated pose a high risk of causing foodborne illness.

Hazard analyses were conducted in 13 homes in each of a village and a town in Pakistan. Pulses, lentils, chick peas, potatoes, rice, and combinations of them, curd, and weaning preparations were commonly prepared in both locations, and meat dishes were prepared in the town. Cooked foods were left, usually at room ambient temperature, overnight in over 50% of the homes. Samples of foods cooked in the morning and eaten at noon usually had mesophilic aerobic colony counts less than 104 CFU/g, but those left overnight usually ranged between 106–9 CFU/g. Coliform bacteria were isolated from 77% of samples; many of the counts exceeded 105/g. Greater than 104/g Staphylococci aureus were isolated from curd and buffalo milk which had been previously heated. Clostridium perfringens were isolated from 18% of samples; once from pulses left overnight in quantities exceeding 107/g. Only three samples contained Bacillus cereus. Salmonella was not recovered from any of 28 samples. Hazards were primarily associated with holding the foods after preparation. Critical control points are cooking, manipulation of foods after cooking, holding cooked foods, and reheating.