Bacterial Contamination and Hygienic Practices Followed by Restaurant’s Workers at Basra City Center

Abstract

Globally, microorganisms cause the majority of foodborne diseases, causing disease burden and mortality. Insufficient food hygienic practices by restaurants workers contributed to microorganism contamination during food handling and processing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the workers' commitment to food hygiene practices and the level of bacterial contamination in Basra city restaurants. A total of 299 forms were distributed to different sociodemographic characteristics of food handlers (cooks and waiters). The statistical analysis found significant associations between sex, level of education, number of food hygiene orientation attendance and the level of commitment to hygienic practices during work hours. 90 samples taken from cooked food samples, hands of the cookers and waiters, meat cutting knifes, meat cutting boards, trays, working surfaces, refrigerator’s hand and shelfs at the kitchen for bacterial identification. Our study revealed that, 50% of the samples were contaminated with E. coli. Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. contamination were relatively have same incidence of 15% and 14.4%, respectively. Staphylococcus spp. and Klebsiella spp. contamination were relatively have same incidence of 11.1% and 10%, respectively. The analysis revealed the presence of Pseudomonas spp., Proteus spp., B. cereus onto a small number at the food contact surfaces. According to this study, contamination was high maybe due to poor food hygienic practices followed by site workers and the absence of an attendance contract for food hygiene practices.