FOOD SAFETY IN CONVENTIONAL AND INNOVATIVE CATERING SYSTEMS

Cook-serve method in mass catering establishments: is it still appropriate to ensure a high level of microbiological quality and safety? Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hygienic quality of three traditional “cook-serve” catering establishments in Lombardy, Italy (with an output ranging from 800 to 1700 meals a day), by monitoring the microbiological quality and safety of foods ready for consumption (n = 727), tap water (n = 32), microfiltered drinking water (n = 28), food contact surfaces (n = 280), and food handlers (n = 76). The food contact surfaces showed unacceptable contamination in 17.1% of samples. The hygienic level of the washed hands of food workers was very high, since only 1.3% of samples showed unacceptable contamination. Food sample analyses highlighted a percentage of samples that did not conform to microbial reference standards: the presence of Listeria monocytogenes was found in 11.5% of “soft cheese” samples. Staphylococcus aureus non-conforming percentages ranged from 2.2% for “first and second courses” to 34.6% for “soft cheeses”; Escherichia coli, from 2.7% for “raw vegetables” to 7.7% for “soft cheeses”; total coliforms from 6.7% for “first and second courses” to 76.4% for “raw vegetables”. The results of the water analysis indicated a high frequency of contamination with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.4% for microfiltered drinking water and 21.9% for tap water samples). In conclusion, the results suggest that more effort should be made in the application of HACCP principles. In addition in order to ensure a higher level of microbiological safety of meals, various changes in the timing of food preparation and holding temperatures are needed. Food safety in commercial catering Abstract The catering industry plays a very important role in public health management, because about 30% of total daily meals are consumed in catering industry establishments (restaurants, cafeterias bars). In this context, food safety was evaluated in 20 catering centres by means of microbiological analyses of different categories of meals. Results demonstrate that there was a significant decrease in microbial contamination between 2006 and 2007; no pathogens were found in 217 samples examined; this result was obtained by improving voluntary controls. Monitoring the bacteriological quality of Italian bottled spring water from dispensers Abstract The bacteriological quality of unprocessed bottled spring water was evaluated, through enumeration of heterotrophic plate count at 22 and 37 °C, total coliforms, Escherichia coli, intestinal enterococci and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The aims of the research were to monitor the hygiene of bottled spring water and to evaluate the effectiveness of the dispenser sanitation procedure, reproducing field conditions. In total, 120 water samples were analyzed. The results indicated a high contamination frequency with P. aeruginosa (57.5%) and therefore the need to refine hygiene in the bottling plant and in the dispenser sanitation procedures. Microbiological quality and safety of refrigerated precooked lasagna packaged under modified atmosphere for Italian school catering Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality and safety of refrigerated precooked lasagna prepared in a traditional “cook-serve” centralized kitchen for up to 28 days of storage. Two preparation methods (hot and cold sauce layering) and two materials (polyethylene and cellulose) for packaging under a modified atmosphere were tested. Microbiological analyses focused on pathogenic and potential-pathogenic microorganism markers (Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and spores of sulphite-reducing clostridia), and on the evolution of spoilage-hygiene markers: mesophilic and psychrotrophic aerobic bacteria, total coliforms and lactic acid bacteria. In total, 81 samples were analysed at intervals of 7 days. No pathogenic microorganisms were detected in all the samples examined for up to 28 days of storage. 37% of samples were positive for S. aureus. After cooking all the samples were in a situation of conformity according to the limits established. In conclusion, the hot sauce layering method associated with polyethylene packaging resulted the most effective productive solution for prolonging the shelf-life of packaged precooked lasagna for up to 21 days.