Assessment of bacterial contamination of the staff of juice shops in Mashhad

Background and Aim : Consumption of handmade juices and traditional ice creams offered in juice shops is popular among the people, especially in the hot seasons. In case of negligence of health issues, juice or ice cream prepared by people contaminated with indicator bacteria. Consumption of contaminated juices is often associated with gastrointestinal disorders such as diarrhea. accordingly, in addition to the preparation process, the personal health of the people involved in the preparation of these juices is also significant.Methods :  In the present study, handmade juices and ice creams prepared in juice shops in Mashhad were collected during ۱۳۹۹. At the same time, people involved in the preparation process were asked to place their hands on a specific culture medium to identify the indicator bacteria involved in the microbial contamination of these products (Finger Test). Microbial tests performed to identify pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and mold and yeast counts, as well as coliform counts. Results :  Microbial assessment of ۱۰۰ fruit juices was performed according to the standard provided by the Iran National Standards Organization. In the results, a large volume of samples was not in accordance with the standard, so that ۹۵%, ۸۰%, ۵۳% and ۲۲% of the samples in terms of coliform count, Escherichia coli contamination, mold and yeast count and coagulase-positive staphylococcus aureus contamination were higher than the standard, respectively. In the study of microbial load on the hands of staff, the identification of Staphylococcus aureus, coliform count and identification of Escherichia coli were significantly equal to the results obtained from the examination of juices.Conclusion :  In Iran, various studies have examined the level of contamination of hand-made juices, however, in none of these studies the level of microbial contamination in the hands of individuals. In this study most of the samples and also staff hands are contaminated with coliforms and were related to hands contamination. Same as this study, asadi et al, showed high contamination rate in ice cream (۱).  In a study conducted by Razavi et al. in Yazd the rate of microbial contamination in unpasteurized juices was ۶% for Escherichia coli and ۱۲% for coliforms. This result was lower than our result (۲).

کلیدواژه ها:

Microbial contamination rate ، juice contamination ، food handlers