scholarly journals Bacteriological Analysis of Raw Beef Retailed in Selected Open Markets in Accra, Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Michael Olu-Taiwo ◽  
Prince Obeng ◽  
Akua Obeng Forson
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Klebsiella Oxytoca ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Total Coliform ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Open Markets

Beef is an important and popular source of protein and nutrients. Constant monitoring and evaluation of the microbiological contamination is pertinent for its safety and quality. This study aimed to assess the bacteriological profiles and the bacterial loads in beef, as well as investigate food safety practices among beef retailers in selected open markets in Accra, Ghana. This was a cross-sectional study with beef samples randomly purchased from six selected open markets in Accra metropolis. Beef samples were examined for total aerobic count (TAC) and total coliform count (TCC). Bacterial identification was performed by standard bacteriological methods and a well-structured questionnaire was administered to assess food safety and hygienic practices of beef retailers. Overall, mean TACs ranged between 2.2 × 103 and 1.3 × 104 CFU/g, while mean TCCs ranged between 1.9 × 102 and 7.4 × 102 CFU/g. Beef samples were mostly contaminated with Staphylococcus spp. (34%), Klebsiella oxytoca (17%), Enterobacter spp. (15%), and Proteus vulgaris (3%). This study showed varying levels of bacterial contamination of retailed beef sold in different Accra markets. According to the Health Protection Agency guidelines for assessing microbiological safety of ready-to-eat foods, our mean TACs were satisfactory, while mean TCCs were within borderline quality. The results of this study revealed that the majority of beef vended in open markets in Accra is contaminated with coliform and pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, more training in safe food handling and good hygiene practices is required for beef retailers. Conclusively, effective monitoring of the bacteriological profiles and bacterial loads of meat and meat products in abattoirs and points of sale should be established, since such a continuous monitoring system could help prevent potential health problems for consumers and provide information on possible sources of meat borne intoxication and infection.

scholarly journals Condition of food safety and some relevant factors of street food stores in Quoc Oai district, Hanoi in 2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-61
Author(s):  
Toan Luu Quoc ◽  
Tam Nguyen Thanh ◽  
Minh Loi Nguyen Thi ◽  
Hong Hao Le Thi ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Foodborne Diseases ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Street Food ◽  
Food Stores ◽  
Safety Requirements ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Relevant Factors

Street food trading helps to meet respond to the needs and satisfy the tastes of consumers. However, they also carry potential health risks, especially foodborne diseases. The cross-sectional study was conducted on 119 street food vendors in Quoc Oai District, Hanoi, Vietnam from February to May 2017. The study aimed to describe the food safety conditions of the street food vendors in Quoc Oai district in 2017 and identified the relevant factors. The study results showed that only 14.3% of the street food sample sold in Quoc Oai district met food safety requirements. Educational, cooking training, and seniority of the vendors, trading locations, the inspection of management agencies are factors which can have influences on the food safety conditions of street food vendors.

scholarly journals Caffeine Health Claims on Sports Supplement Labeling. Analytical Assessment According to EFSA Scientific Opinion and International Evidence and Criteria

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 2095
Author(s):  
Pedro Estevan Navarro ◽  
Isabel Sospedra ◽  
Alejandro Perales ◽  
Cristina González-Díaz ◽  
Rubén Jiménez-Alfageme ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Endurance Performance ◽  
Food Supplement ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
European Food Safety Authority ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Strength Performance ◽  
Scientific Opinion ◽  
Term Performance

Caffeine is a food supplement widely consumed by athletes, but it has not been established. So far, the veracity of their labeling in terms of the dosage and cause/effect relationship aimed at the consumer. The aim is to analyze the health claims and the dosage presented on the labeling of caffeine supplements and to evaluate if they follow the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and international criteria. A descriptive cross-sectional study of a sample of caffeine supplements was carried out. The search was done through the Amazon and Google Shopping web portals. In order to assess the adequacy of the health claims, the guidelines of reference established by European Food Safety Authority were compared to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, International Olympic Committee, and Australian Institute of Sport guidelines; in addition, recent systematic reviews were addressed. A review of labels of 42 caffeine supplements showed that, in less than 3% of the products were the health claims supported by the recommendations and by the labeled quantity of caffeine. The claims that fully complied the recommendations were, “improves or increases endurance performance”, “improves strength performance”, or “improves short-term performance”. In most cases, the recommended dosage was 200 mg/day for these products, which is the minimum for the caffeine effects to be declared. The rest of the health claims were not adequate or need to be modified. Most of the health claims identified indicated an unproven cause and effect, which constitutes consumer fraud, and so must be modified or eliminated.

Should Weights and Risk Categories Be Used for Inspection Scores To Evaluate Food Safety in Restaurants?

2016 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
DIOGO THIMOTEO da CUNHA ◽  
VERIDIANA VERA de ROSSO ◽  
ELKE STEDEFELDT
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Safety Evaluation ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Risk Category ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Evaluation Bias ◽  
Risk Categories ◽  
Food Safety Evaluation

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to verify the characteristics of food safety inspections, considering risk categories and binary scores. A cross-sectional study was performed with 439 restaurants in 43 Brazilian cities. A food safety checklist with 177 items was applied to the food service establishments. These items were classified into four groups (R1 to R4) according to the main factors that can cause outbreaks involving food: R1, time and temperature aspects; R2, direct contamination; R3, water conditions and raw material; and R4, indirect contamination (i.e., structures and buildings). A score adjusted for 100 was calculated for the overall violation score and the violation score for each risk category. The average violation score (standard deviation) was 18.9% (16.0), with an amplitude of 0.0 to 76.7%. Restaurants with a low overall violation score (approximately 20%) presented a high number of violations from the R1 and R2 groups, representing the most risky violations. Practical solutions to minimize this evaluation bias were discussed. Food safety evaluation should use weighted scores and be risk-based. However, some precautions must be taken by researchers, health inspectors, and health surveillance departments to develop an adequate and reliable instrument.

scholarly journals Bacteria and Their Antibiotic Resistance Profiles in Ambient Air in Accra, Ghana, February 2020: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Godfred Saviour Kudjo Azaglo ◽  
Mohammed Khogali ◽  
Katrina Hann ◽  
John Alexis Pwamang ◽  
Emmanuel Appoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Bacillus Species ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Bacterial Counts ◽  
Inappropriate Use

Inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in ambient air. There is no published information about the presence and resistance profiles of bacteria in ambient air in Ghana. We evaluated the presence and antibiotic resistance profiles of selected bacterial, environmental and meteorological characteristics and airborne bacterial counts in 12 active air quality monitoring sites (seven roadside, two industrial and three residential) in Accra in February 2020. Roadside sites had the highest median temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and PM10 concentrations, and median airborne bacterial counts in roadside sites (115,000 CFU/m3) were higher compared with industrial (35,150 CFU/m3) and residential sites (1210 CFU/m3). Bacillus species were isolated in all samples and none were antibiotic resistant. There were, however, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas species, non-hemolytic Streptococci, Coliforms and Staphylococci species, of which six (50%) showed mono-resistance or multidrug resistance to four antibiotics (penicillin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone). There was a positive correlation between PM10 concentrations and airborne bacterial counts (rs = 0.72), but no correlations were found between PM10 concentrations and the pathogenic bacteria nor their antibiotic resistance. We call for the expansion of surveillance of ambient air to other cities of Ghana to obtain nationally representative information.

scholarly journals Response of the Cardiac Autonomic Control to Exposure to Nanoparticles and Noise: A Cross-Sectional Study of Airport Ground Staff

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2507
Author(s):  
Luigi Isaia Lecca ◽  
Gabriele Marcias ◽  
Michele Uras ◽  
Federico Meloni ◽  
Nicola Mucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ultrafine Particles ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Peak Level ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Autonomic Response ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Work Activity ◽  
Cardiac Autonomic Regulation

Airport activity causes the emission of particulate matter and noise, two environmental contaminants and potential health hazards, particularly for the personnel operating nearby taxiways. We explored the association between exposure to fine/ultrafine particles (UFPs) and noise with heart rate variability (HRV), an early indicator of cardiovascular autonomic response, among a sample of airport ground staff. Between May and June 2018, thirty-four male operators (mean age = 43 years and SD = 6.7) underwent personal monitoring of exposure to nanoparticles and noise, and HRV during their work activity. We conducted univariate and multivariate analysis to test the effect of UFP and noise exposure HRV. Total Lung Deposition Surface Area (LDSA) was significantly associated with a decrease in HRV Total Power and Triangular index (β = −0.038 p = 0.016 and β = −7.8 × 10−5, p = 0.042, respectively). Noise peak level showed an opposite effect, which was significant for Total Power (β = 153.03, p = 0.027), and for Triangular index (β = 0.362, p = 0.035). Further investigation is warranted to clarify the effect of the concurrent exposure to UFPs and noise on early changes of cardiac autonomic regulation.

Peer effects in the valuation and practices of food safety: findings from the study of dairy consumers in India

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Chandra ◽  
Abdul Munasib ◽  
Devesh Roy ◽  
Vinay K. Sonkar
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Peer Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Campaigns ◽  
Social Multiplier ◽  
Multiplier Effects ◽  
The Right

Purpose Information is often available to consumers through their social networks. Focusing on dairy consumers in India, this paper aims to present evidence of peer effects in consumers’ attitudes towards various food safety attributes and food safety practices. Design/methodology/approach Unobserved individual heterogeneities are crucial confounders in the identification of social (endogenous) effects. The identification is based on exploiting within-consumer variation across different aspects of attitude (or practices) related to food safety. Findings This paper uses a novel identification strategy that allows for average effects across attributes and practices to be estimated. Using the strategy, though this paper cannot estimate endogenous effects in each attribute or practice, this paper is able to identify such effects averaged over attributes or practices. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional study, caste affiliation is not defined at the right level of granularity. Practical implications The results suggest that information campaigns aimed at creating awareness about food safety can have social multiplier effects, and this also translates into changes in the practices followed to mitigate food safety risks. Social implications In health-related awareness and practices, there are well-established cases of multiplier effects. The most significant example of this is the Pulse Polio campaign in India, where an awareness drives through social multiplier effects had such a significant impact that in 2012 India was declared polio-free. Perhaps, a similar campaign in matters related to food safety could be very fruitful. Originality/value The methodology and the issue are unique. Little exists in assessing social networks in the context of food safety.

Knowledge and awareness about food safety, foodborne disease, and microbial hazards: A cross-sectional study among Bangladeshi consumers of street-vended foods

Food Control ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 108718
Author(s):  
Md Hasan Al Banna ◽  
Satyajit Kundu ◽  
Keith Brazendale ◽  
Bright Opoku Ahinkorah ◽  
Tasnim Rahman Disu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Foodborne Disease ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

scholarly journals Factors associated with food safety compliance among street food vendors in Can Tho city, Vietnam: implications for intervention activity design and implementation

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ba Huynh-Van ◽  
Vy Vuong-Thao ◽  
Tuyen Huynh-Thi-Thanh ◽  
Sinh Dang-Xuan ◽  
Tung Huynh-Van ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Street Food ◽  
Intervention Activity ◽  
The Status ◽  
Hygiene Compliance ◽  
Basic Infrastructure ◽  
Can Tho City

Abstract Background Street food plays a valuable role in several Asian countries including Vietnam. Improving the safety of street food is an important responsibility for many local food authorities. This study aims to characterize the business profile of fixed and mobile street food vendors, and to compare their compliance with the food safety criteria. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire and observational checklist to assess the ten Vietnamese food safety criteria prescribed under Decision No. 3199/2000/QD-BYT for street food vendors in Can Tho city. A total of 400 street food vendors, composed of fixed and mobile vendors, in urban areas of the city were randomly selected for the survey. Results The study showed significant differences between the two types of street food vendors in educational level (p = 0.017); business profile, including types of foods vended, area in use, number of employees, training in food safety, and business registration paperwork; and the status of compliance with the ten-food hygiene and safety criteria (p < 0.01). Poisson regression analysis found that education attainment (IRR = 1.228, p = 0.015), food safety training (IRR = 4.855, p < 0.01), total business capital (IRR = 1.004, p = 0.031) and total area in use (IRR = 1.007, p = 0.001) appeared to be significantly positively associated with food safety and hygiene compliance. In contrast, mobile vending type was negatively associated with the likelihood of adhering to the ten criteria (IRR = 0.547, p = 0.005). Conclusions These findings emphasize the need for training and education programs to improve food safety knowledge and practice among street food vendors. Basic infrastructure and services, especially clean water, proper sanitation, and waste disposal facilities, should be provided to help street food vendors better practice food safety and hygiene regulations.

scholarly journals Relationship between awareness and attitude with health and foodsafety among students of Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-11
Author(s):  
Arezou Khezerlou ◽  
Nasim Zolfaghari Firouzsalari ◽  
Hajar Zolfaghari ◽  
Mahmood Alizadeh sani ◽  
Maryam Azizi-lalabadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Healthy Life ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Freshmen Students ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Healthy Life Style

Introduction: Healthy life style and food safety are among the most crucial elements inpromoting community health. This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the awarenessand attitudes of the students of Urmia University, Urmai, Iran, regarding health and food safety. Methods: The questionnaire used was designed in three parts (demographic, attitude, andawareness) and it was completed by 384 students. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: Results showed that over 80% of the students had positive attitude towards health and foodsafety. In addition, almost 50% of the subjects had low awareness on the most appropriate plasticcontainers to keep food healthy. Findings indicated that there was a significant difference between thestudents' attitudes and their academic level (P = 0.008). No significant differences were found amongstudents' awareness and attitude considering gender and passing the food safety course. Cocnclusion: As the study findings revealed, training programs and workshops related to healthand food safety could be effective, specially for freshmen students.

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