A Study on Bacterial Contamination of Cooking Environments of Food Service Operations at University

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of microbiological contamination of kitchen utensils and environments of food service operations at university located in Seoul, Korea. Methods: We collected swab samples from the surfaces of knives, chopping boards, floors, and drains, as well as drinking water and airborne bacteria samples from 20 food service operations. Three bacterial indicators and five food poisoning bacteria were measured quantitatively and qualitatively, respectively. We used selective culture media and the PCR assay targeting 16S rRNA gene for the microbiological analysis. Results: We detected bacterial indicators on knives or chopping boards in eight different food service operations and, three food service operations(I, M, and O) showed more than 3 log colony forming units(CFU)/100 cm 2 on their knives, significantly higher than the others. The levels of bacterial indicators on the floors and drains in the cooking areas were much higher than those on the cooking utensils. S. aureus was detected on 10 floors and 8 drains. Culturable bacteria were identified in 5 drinking water samples, and food service operation B (431.1 CFU/m 3) and C(551.2 CFU/m 3) showed more than 400 CFU/m 3 of total airborne bacteria. Conclusions: These results suggest that some of food service operations in this study may require additional investigation to secure the microbial safety of cooking environments. In addition, further actions including hygiene education for employees and proper guidelines to maintain clean cooking environments should be prepared.