
E.coli is an organism which is normally present in the intestinal tract
of mammals and is thus a faecal indicator organism. Its presence in
ready-to-eat foods – fully cooked or raw edible foods like salads – is
an indication of poor hygiene and sanitation or inadequate heat
treatment.The tolerance limit for E.coli is less than 100 cfu/g for raw food and less than 10 cfu/g for cooked food.Some of the popular food items tested by the lab included green salads
(all samples of which were contaminated by E.coli), fish curry, chicken
curry, parotta, puffs, pizza, vada, dosa, sambar, chutney, among many
other such items.
The samples were purchased from hotels across Kerala, in packets
provided by eateries, which were immediately transferred to sterile
polythene bags and to insulated chilled boxes and transferred to lab
immediately.The researchers have pointed out that poor sanitation is largely
responsible for much of the contamination in food from food handlers.The levels of hygiene and sanitation inside hotel kitchens is of prime
importance because the presence of a toilet near the hotel kitchen poses
a serious risk of E.coli contamination in food preparation.Food handlers need to be made aware of the importance of maintaining personal hygiene as well as hygienic habits.
Source:http://www.thehindu.com
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