EVALUATIONANDPREVENTIONOFFOOD

POISONINGINACATERING
ESTABLISHMENT
EVALUATIONANDPREVENTIONOFFOODPOISONINGINACATERING
ESTABLISHMENT
CHAPTERONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUNDTOTHESTUDY
Recently,anumberoffoodborneillnessesoccurredworldwide have aroused the
concern and anxiety of the public about food safety. Most of these foodborne
illnesses are caused by mishandling or improper preparation/storage of food by
foodhandlers.Inordertoensurefoodsafetyandpreventfoodpoisoning,allfood
businesses including food service organizations should comply with the existing
food regulations as well as prepare their own food safety plan to prevent food
poisoning.
The increasing number of food poisoning outbreaks and foodrelated scares has
led to calls for better hygiene and quality practices. Food poisoning outbreaks of
salmonella,listeria,andEscherichiacolihavemadethepublicmoreskepticalofthe
food they consume. In recent months the debate surrounding The European
Commission has recognized the importance of controlling foodpoisoning
outbreaksowingtotheincreasingnumberofmealsconsumedoutsidethehome,in
parallelwiththeeverexpandingrangeofprepreparedmeals.
Thischangingconsumerlifestyleemphasizestheneedforbetter,effectivewaysof
controlling food hygiene.There is strong statistical evidence that the incidence of
food poisoning caused by caterers is greater than in any other food sector,
accounting for 70% of all bacterial food poisoning outbreaks. Seventy per cent of
these food poisoning outbreaks are due to the inadequate time and temperature

control of food, while the remaining 30% are the result of crosscontamination
(Wilson,Murray,Black,&McDowell,1997).
Thehandsoffoodserviceemployeescanbevectorsinthespreadoffoodborne
diseasesbecauseofpoorpersonalhygieneorcrosscontamination.Forexample,
anemployeemightcontaminatehishandswhenusingthetoilet,orbacteriamight
bespreadfromrawmeattosaladgreensbyfoodhandlershands,pointoutthat
dataonriskfactorsforfoodbornediseasesimplythatmostoutbreaksresultfrom
improper food handling practices (Ehiri & Morris, 1996). A study in the USA
suggestedthatimproperfoodhandlerpracticescontributedtoapproximately97%
of foodborne illnesses in foodservice establishments and homes (Howes,
McEwen,Griffiths,&Harris,1996).
Food poisoning follows the ingestion of microorganisms that may have been
present in already contaminated food, which may have resulted from inadequate
food preservation techniques or unsafe handling practices or which may have
arisen from crosscontamination from surfaces, equipment, or, less likely, from
persons who carry enterotoxigenic staphylococci in their nails or on their skin
(Barrie, 1996 Jay, Comar, & Govenlock, 1999). Similarly, infected food handlers
arealsoacommonsourceoffoodbornevirusessuchastheHepatitisAvirusand
the diarrhoeacausing, small roundstructured viruses which are excreted in large
numbers by infected individuals. Many cases of foodborne virus infection have
been associated with catering (WHO, 1999). Poor sanitary practices in food
storage, handling, and preparation can create an environment in which bacteria
such as camphylobacter, salmonella, and other infectious agents are more easily
transmitted(Fielding,Aguirre,&Palaiologos,2001Gent,Telford,&Syed,1999).
Foodhandlersmaytransmitpathogenspassivelyfromacontaminatedsource,for
example,fromrawpoultrytoafoodsuchascoldcookedmeatthatistobeeaten
without further heating. They may also, however, themselves to be sources of
organisms either during the course of gastrointestinal illness or during and after
convalescence,whentheynolongerhavesymptoms.
Duringtheacutestagesofgastroenteritislargenumberoforganismsareexcreted
and by the nature of the disease are likely to be widely dispersed clearly, food
handlers who are symptomatically ill may present a real hazard and should be
excludedfromwork.Goodhygiene,bothpersonalandinfoodhandlingpractices,

is the basis for preventing the transmission of pathogens from food handling
personnel to consumer. (Bryan, 1988 Evans et al., 1998). The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), with support from enforcement agencies and the food
industry and catering establishment has endorsed food service worker training
since1976however,sincethattime,theretailfoodserviceindustry,hasintensified
efforts to improve retail food safety through training of restaurant managers and
employees(Lynch,Elledge,Griffith,&Boatrigh,2003).
1.2STATEMENTOFTHEPROBLEM
Whenfoodpoisoningoutbreaksareinvestigatedithasbeenestablishedthatsmall
and medium sized catering establishments are often important locations in the
transmissionoffoodborneillnessandpoisoning.Therearemanyissuesimposing
risk on food safety due to industrialization and mass production, emergence of
longerandmorecomplexfoodchains,fastfoodconsumption,streetvendorsand
growing international trade and tourism. Besides, longterm inflation and other
economical causes advertisements, growing eating out habits (fast foods,
restaurant meals etc.) are also the likely causes of food safety problems. The
purposeofthisstudyistoexaminethemethodsofpreventionoffoodpoisoningin
acateringestablishment.
1.3OBJECTIVESOFTHESTUDY
Thefollowingaretheobjectivesofthisstudy:
1.Toexaminetheprevalenceoffoodpoisoningincateringestablishments.
2.Toexaminethemethodsofpreventingfoodpoisoningincatering
establishments.
3.Toidentifythefactorscausingfoodpoisoningincateringestablishments.
1.4RESEARCHQUESTIONS
1.Whatistheprevalenceoffoodpoisoningincateringestablishments?
2.Whatarethemethodsofpreventingfoodpoisoningincateringestablishments?
3.Whatarethefactorscausingfoodpoisoningincateringestablishments?
1.6SIGNIFICANCEOFTHESTUDY
Thefollowingarethesignificanceofthisstudy:

1.Theoutcomeofthisstudywilleducatecaterers,smallandmediumscalefood
sellersandthegeneralpublicontheapproachestothepreventionoffood
poisoningespeciallyincateringestablishments.
2.Thisresearchwillbeacontributiontothebodyofliteratureintheareaofthe
effectofpersonalitytraitonstudentsacademicperformance,thereby
constitutingtheempiricalliteratureforfutureresearchinthesubjectarea.
1.7SCOPE/LIMITATIONSOFTHESTUDY
Thisstudywillcovertheapproachestopreventagainstfoodpoisoningincatering
establishments.
LIMITATIONOFSTUDY
FinancialconstraintInsufficientfundtendstoimpedetheefficiencyofthe
researcherinsourcingfortherelevantmaterials,literatureorinformationandinthe
processofdatacollection(internet,questionnaireandinterview).
TimeconstraintTheresearcherwillsimultaneouslyengageinthisstudywith
otheracademicwork.Thisconsequentlywillcutdownonthetimedevotedforthe
researchwork
REFERENCES
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Ehiri,J.E.,&Morris,G.P.(1996).Hygienetrainingandeducationoffoodhandlers:
Doesitwork?EcologyofFoodandNutrition,35,243251.
Evans,H.S.,Madden,P.,Doudlas,C.,Adak,G.K.,OBrien,S.J.,Djuretic,T.,Wall,
P.G.,&StanwellSmith,R.(1998).Generaloutbreaksofinfectiousintestinal
diseaseinEnglandandWales:1995and1996.CommunicableDiseaseandPublic
Health,1,165171.
Fielding,J.E.,Aguirre,A.,&Palaiologos,E.(2001).Effectivenessofaltered
incentivesinafoodsafetyinspectionprogram.PreventativeMedicine,32,239244
Gent,R.N.,Telford,D.R.,&Syed,Q.(1999).Anoutbreakofcamphylobacterfood
poisoningatauniversitycampus.CommunicableDiseaseandPublicHealth,2,
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Howes,M.,McEwen,S.,Griffiths,M.,&Harris,L.(1996).Foodhandlercertification
byh