Assessment of sanitation and hygiene of hands, equipment of food handlers by swab test and finding a suitable wash solution to reduce of bacterial load and pesticide residue present in fruits and vegetables

Abstract

Sanitation and hygiene play an important role in preventing many food borne illness. Regular washing of hands with soap and disinfecting the work area before and after processing minimize the risk and reduce the pathogens which contaminate the food which help in preventing serious health hazards. The present study on “Assessment of sanitation and hygiene of hands, equipment of food handlers by swab test and finding a suitable wash solution to reduce of bacterial load and pesticide residue present in fruits and vegetables.” was done as a part of pilot study in processed fruits and vegetable industries. Sixty pre and post swab samples were taken to determine the total bacterial count present on the hands of food handlers. An experiment was also conducted to determine the total bacterial count present on the surface of tomato by washing and soaking for 15 minutes in different washing solutions like tap water, saline, turmeric solution, chlorine, vinegar solution and two commercial washes like Nim wash and Veggie clean. The mean Pre Total bacterial count was502.33 SD± 118.03 whereas as the mean E coli was4.066SD± 8.97. After pouring and rubbing the hands of the food handlers with 70% alcohol based sanitizer the mean total bacterial count came down to 102 SD±29.59 E coli was absent in post swab test.The total bacterial count present on the surface of tomato before wash was 80cfu/g but after washing in tap water it was 55cfu/g, chlorine 22cfu/g, saline 21cfu/g, vinegar 18cfu/g, turmeric 14cfu/g,Nim wash 14cfu/g and Veggie clean was 9cfu/g.Personal hygiene and sanitation should be strictly followed in all processing unitsto ensure the safety of food products and adopt good handling practices regarding proper washing of fruits and vegetables to eradicate germs and pesticides from the surfaces of fruits and vegetables.