Microbiological quality of food samples from restaurants and sweet shops in developing countries: A case study from the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review the microbiological quality of food samples taken from a wide range of cooked and raw foods obtained from restaurants and sweet shops in the Ramallah and al-Bireh district, and to identify the gaps in food inspection and handling that can be realistically improved. Utilizing food sample test results of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, records pertaining to the years 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002, and the first 2 months of the year 2003 reveal that only 60.9%, 44.0%, 63.8%, 93.6%, 51.8%, 83.8%, and 50.4% of the food samples tested for total aerobic count, total Coliform, faecal Coliform, Staphylococcus aureus, faecal Streptococci, moulds, and yeasts respectively are within the limits of the Palestinian and International standards. None of the tested samples for Salmonellae or Clostridium perfringes were positive. Analysis of the data indicates an irregular rather than systematic process to testing. For example, 60.4% of the tested food samples in 2000 came from sweet shops, while the relative percentage of sweet shops is 21.4% out of the total restaurants and sweet shop figures in the area at the time. In contrast to what would be expected, most of the samples were collected during the cold season, raising questions as to the suitability of testing procedures and guidelines. Systemic and procedural gaps were identified by the analysis that can be addressed to at least contain, if not completely eliminate the presence of foods in the market that are unacceptable for consumption.

Bacteriological Quality of Foods and Water Sold by Vendors and in Restaurants in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria: A Comparative Study of Three Microbiological Methods

“…The presence of coliforms of presumably human origin points to the risk of exposure to enteropathogens, including Salmonella, Shigella, and enteropathogenic E. coli , which were not specifically investigated in this study. The high level of food contamination observed had also been reported earlier in Nigeria and from other developing countries, including Senegal, Bangladesh, and Ghana (1,11,14-16). What these regions have in common are poverty and low standard of personal and environmental hygiene.…”

Management of Microbial Food Safety in Arab Countries

“…Also in Palestine, 6.4% of food samples collected during winter from restaurants and sweet shops between 1995 and 2003 were contaminated with high levels of S. aureus (5). In Egypt, S. aureus strains were isolated from food samples collected from kitchens of various hospitals (20), and high levels of S. aureus were recovered from 24% of Kareesh cheese samples (43).…”

Effect of Post Treatment with Brine and Steam on Phenotypic Resistant <i>Salmonella</i> Isolates from <i>Pentaclethra macrophylla</i>

“…in all the markets with Abakpa, Gariki and Ogbete main markets having the highest prevalence at 100% (Figure 1). Bacteria gains entry into food as a result of inadequate preparation, poor storage conditions or unhygienic handling and preparation [3,7]. Salmonella infection ranks among the leading food-borne infection globally [12].…”