Salmonella Contamination: Breach in Food Safety Standards at Hotel Restaurants

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4916252/v1

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Salmonella Contamination: Breach in Food Safety Standards at Hotel Restaurants

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4916252/v1

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There is an increasing patronage of hotel restaurants food, but the safety of such foods is always call to question because of commitanition from organisms like salmonella. Salmonellosis is a set of common foodborne diseases caused by bacteria (Salmonella spp), of which there are many variants. We conducted microbial assessment of foods served at 21 hotel restaurants in Central and Western Regions of Ghana, to determine the presence of Salmonella. Samples of cooked food were collected from the hotels in sterile containers and Ziploc bags packed into thermoregulatory flask and transported aseptically to the laboratory for analysis. Standard microbiological methods were employed for isolation, enumeration, and identification of bacteria (Salmonella). The mean bacterial count from the food samples was expressed as x10⁴cfu/mL. The results were analysed using a single factor ANOVA to calculate the mean and standard deviations for food samples common to three categories of hotels, while t-Test (Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variance) was utilised to analyse samples common to two categories of hotel. The results revealed Salmonella presence in all the food samples tested from the restaurants in the hotels. Salmonella contamination of the food samples is attributed to poor personal hygiene, inadequate time and temperature management of cooked and uncooked food and other practices among the food handlers which lead to cross-contamination. Therefore, it is important to intensify training of the food handlers to strictly adhere to food safety protocols. In addition, improvement in monitoring and supervision is important to protect the health of consumers.

Salmonella spp

foodborne diseases

bacteria

personal hygiene

cross-contamination

hotel restaurants

The rise in the consumption of out-of-home food means that contamination with organnisms like samomonella is critical. Salmonellosis is a global public health menace causing enormous levels of morbidity and mortality with substantial financial and social impacts [1, 2, 3, 4]. Salmonellosis is a foodborne disease caused by bacteria (Salmonella spp.) of which there are many serotypes [4]. Some of the serotypes are categorized as typhoidal (S. typhi and S. paratyphi etc) and non-typhoidal organisms depending on the nature of their infection distribution patterns [4, 5]. The typhoidal infection such as typhoid and paratyphoid fevers are usually very severe and could be very fatal if not quickly detected and treated. Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS), on the other hand, is one of the most prevalent causes of foodborne diseases, which could be invasive or non-invasive [4, 6, 7, 8]. The invasive NTS is responsible for major bloodstream infections (septicaemia) generally. However, regardless of any of the serotypes, the presence of Salmonella in food renders the food unsafe for human consumption.

Globally, the burden of Salmonella infection is estimated at 93.8 million illnesses and 155,000 deaths yearly [4, 9]. In the USA, Salmonella Spp. was ranked the foremost foodborne pathogens with the most substantial cost of illnesses [2, 10]. For instance, a total of 926 salmonellosis foodborne outbreaks were reported across 23 European countries in 2019, resulting in 9,169 cases, 1,915 hospitalizations, and 7 deaths (European Union Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [11]. In addition, out of 5,146 reported foodborne outbreaks in 2018 from the European Union, Salmonella alone accounted for 33% [12]. This is quite alarming because Salmonella could survive for prolong periods in dry food products and in low moisture environments. Its spread could be rapid and travel across geographical barriers through trade (export/import) [12, 13]. Meanwhile, Africa records the highest incidence of non-typhoidal salmonella infections resulting in an estimated 3.4 million cases of morbidity and 20% mortality rate [14]. Such infections seem to be endemic, and a major cause of bacteremia in children and immune compromised individuals such as malnourished and HIV/AIDS infected persons [15, 6, 17]. Unfortunately, the development of drug resistance to the Salmonellae among infected individuals has exacerbated the problem of Salmonella prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, a review of previous studies [18, 19, 20, 21, 22] showed multi-drug-resistance of some Salmonella serotypes and its impact on the efficacy of antibiotic treatment of both Typhoidal and NTS infections.

Salmonella transmission occurs in both humans and animals (pets eg. dogs, cats, birds and turtles). It is projected that majority of Salmonella infections in humans is linked to food contamination (food from animal and plant sources) along the food chain. Meanwhile, partially cooked meat/raw eggs (poor time and temperature control), poor storage of cooked and uncooked foods and poor hygiene practices as well as person-to-person transmission through the oral-faecal route of food handlers, culminate into cross-contamination, that trigger Salmonella infections. Although some infections of Salmonella could be self-limiting, many are very severe and life threatening [23] and this requires strict measures to protect the sanctity of food served to consumers at various food establishments. Meanwhile, there are several reported cases of Salmonella outbreaks around the world resulting in hospitalizations and food recalls [11]. For instance, a recent outbreak of Salmonella Africana in cucumber in some states of United States of America (USA) involving 141 individuals led to the recall of the cucumbers from the various grocery stores [24]. A similar outbreak in 2019 was related to fresh vegetables [4]. In addition, an outbreak in the same year was linked to the contact with backyard poultry affecting over 1,000 people in 49 states in the USA. Moreover, in Chile a reported outbreak affecting more than 80 people was associated with improperly cooked sushi–a local quisine [3]. This highlights a potential food safety crisis and requires efforts to prevent and control foodborne Salmonella infections [25].

Several studies [26, 27, 28, 29] have been conducted on food contamination in Ghana. However, most of these studies were focused on raw food contaminations from farm environments and markets. Even studies that focused on have been food contamination in Ghana were centered on other microbial contaminants other than Salmonella [30, 31, 32]. Therefore, those findings from those studies did not bring to the fore the actual burden of Salmonella contamination of foods served in food service establishments such as hotels and restaurants. Meanwhile, typhoid fever surveillance reports from 2016 to 2019 showed that Central Region recorded 45,497 cases and Western Region recorded 11, 104 cases [33,34). Unfortunately, it is believed that these figures are grossly underestimated and that the rate of infection in some parts of these regions are sketchy. This has created a gap in establishing the prevalence of Salmonella infestation in Ghana. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the extent of Salmonella contamination and factors affecting such contaminations in food served at hotels restaurants in Central and Western Regions of Ghana.

A total of 110 food samples were collected from 21 hotels in the Central and Western Regions of Ghana from January to May, 2021. The hotels were categorized into ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ according to their star ratings as 3stars, 2stars and 1star. Meanwhile, we carried out observation of the food safety practices of the food handlers at the various hotels.

Preparation of culture media

Salmonella-Shegella (SS) Agar and Nutrient Agar (NA) media (Oxoid Ltd., England) used in this study were prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The media were sterilized at a pressure of 7g at 121°C for 15 minutes using an autoclave (Shimadzu KY-23D, Omron Corporation, Japan). SS and NA media were used to isolate bacteria. All other culture media used in this study were prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Sample collection

Samples of cooked food were collected from the 21 hotel restaurants. The food samples were dished out into sterile containers and Ziploc bags under aseptic conditions. These were packed into thermoregulation flasks to keep the temperature fairly stable during transportation. The samples were promptly transported to the laboratory at the Department of Microbiology, University of Cape Coast for analysis with the original storage conditions maintained as nearly as possible. The food samples collected included vegetable salads, hot pepper sauce, banku (from a mixture of cassava and corn dough), plain rice, jollof rice, grilled chicken, boiled yam, fried rice, fried fish, kontomire stew (from cocoa yam leaves), grilled fish, okro soup, gravy, “shito” (from a mixture of chilli pepper, dried fish, shrimps and oil), vegetable stew, “gari foto” (from a mixture of gari mixed and gravy), oat porridge, and mango smoothie.

Serial dilution, culturing and enumeration

Up to the forth series of serial dilution was performed to dilute the sample to the ten thousandth (10^− 4th) concentration. At the laboratory, 1g of each sample was transferred into 9ml of peptone water in a test tube. The test tube was vortexed (Scientific Industries, Inc., USA) to homogenize its contents. One millilitre (1ml) of the homogenized sample was then aseptically transferred serially under the laminar flow hood into three test tubes. One millilitre (1ml) aliquot of the last dilution factor was then plated on Salmonella-Shegella agar using the pour plate technique with three dilutions (triplicate) for each sample. The inoculated plates were then incubated at room temperature in an incubator for approximately 18 hours. The number of colonies in each Petri plate after incubation was observed and counted using a colony counter, and recorded.

Isolation of Microorganism

Bacterial analysis was carried out to evaluate and identify disease causing bacteria in relation to standard protocols for the number of Salmonella spp. Selective enrichment media was used to isolate the Salmonella spp by streaking onto selective agar (Salmonella-Shigella) comprising one or additional agents that impede the growth of non-Salmonella organisms. The Salmonella-Shigella (SS) Agar plates were incubated at 37ᵒC for 24hours. Colonies having a little transparent precinct of reddish/pink colour with or without a black centre on Salmonella-Shigella plates were depicted as Salmonella spp (Acumedia Manufacturers, 201135). In cases of unclear or contaminated colonies, sub-culturing of suspected colonies was done two to three times to obtain distinct isolated colonies for the preparation of pure cultures.

Preparation of pure cultures

The morphology of the colonies observed on the Petri dishes were examined critically. The distinct colonies observed were carefully picked using sterile inoculation loops and streaked on nutrient agar plates to obtain pure cultures. The plates were then incubated at room temperature for approximately 18 hours. Subsequently, the distinct colonies on the streaked plates were picked using a sterile inoculation loop and stabbed in nutrient agar in labelled Eppendorf tubes. The tubes were incubated at room temperature for 18 hours. The pure cultures were then stored in the refrigerator at 4℃.

Data analysis

The data management was carried out using SPSS version 21. Single factor ANOVA was used to calculate the mean and standard deviations for food samples common to the three categories of hotels, i.e. 3star, 2star and 1star. Meanwhile, t-test (Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variance) was used to analyse samples common to two categories of hotels. Moreover, we incopoarated the oservation data to further explanation of the quantitative data.

Average bacteria counts in the food samples

All the 110 food sampled and tested from the various categories of hotel were found to contain different species of pathogenic microorganisms. This indicates a poor bacteriological quality of the food samples at the restaurants. Significantly, the mean bacterial counts observed in most of the food samples were unsatisfactory. From Table 1, the microbial counts for salad for the three categories of hotels ranged from 4.7 x 10⁴ cfu/mL to 6.6 x 10⁴ cfu/mL. Salad from category ‘C’ (1star) had the highest bacteria counts while salad from category ‘A’ (3star) had the least observable microbial counts. Plain rice from all the three categories of hotel had a mean microbial range of 2.6 x 10⁴ cfu/mL to 6.8 x10⁴ cfu/mL. Those from category ‘C’ had heavy bacteria counts of 6.8 x 10⁴ cfu/mL, whereas category ‘A’ recorded the least mean microbial contamination of 2.6 x 10⁴ cfu/mL. Microbial counts for hot pepper sauce for all the three categories of hotel range from 4.1x10⁴cfu/mL to 7.5 x 10⁴ cfu/mL. Category ‘A’ obtained the highest of 7.5 x 10⁴ cfu/mL mean microbial counts and category ‘C’ recorded 4.1 x 10⁴ cfu/mL the least observable counts for hot peper sauce.

Table 1

Mean Total Bacteria Count (x10⁴ cfu/mL) in Various Foods At Different Hotel Restaurants
	Hotel Restaurants
Food Items	A	B	C
Salad Plain Rice Jollof Rice Fried Rice Hot Pepper Sauce Grilled Fish Banku Grilled Chicken Shito Fried Fish	4.7 ± 2.2 2.6 ± 2.4 3.9 ± 1.3 3.8 ± 1.4 7.5 ± 0.1 4.9 ± 1.7 - 4.3 ± 0.5 3.7 ± 1.4 2.9 ± 1.8	5.3 ± 1.4 5.2 ± 1.9 4.3 ± 1.6 5.4 ± 2.8 5.5 ± 0.4 5.1 ± 3.0 5.2 ± 0.8 5.5 ± 2.5 4.6 ± 1.9 -	6.6 ± 1.5 6.8 ± 0.1 - - 4.1 ± 1.0 6.1 ± 0.3 0.6 ± 1.1 - 3.4 ± 0.3 2.6 ± 0.4

Meanwhile, grilled fish from all the three categories of hotel had microbial load of 4.9 x 10⁴ cfu/mL to 6.1 x 10⁴ cfu/mL. Although samples from category ‘A’ had a mean of 4.9 x 10⁴ cfu/mL bacterial counts, and category ‘C’, 6.1 x 10⁴ cfu/mL being the highest. Jollof rice which is common to only category ‘A’ and ‘C’ hotels, recorded a mean observable bacterial counts of 3.9 x 10⁴ cfu/mL and 4.3 x 10⁴ cfu/mL for samples analysed. However, fried fish from category ‘A’ was 2.9 x 10⁴ cfu/mL while ‘C’ (2.6 x 10⁴ cfu/mL) hotels had low levels of bacteria counts (Table 1). Banku, which is also common to category ‘B’ (2star) and ‘C’ recorded 5.2 x 10⁴ cfu/mL and 0.6 x 10⁴ cfu/mL bacterial counts, respectgively. Meanwhile, fried rice samples for category ‘A’ and ‘B’ recorded means of 3.8 x 10⁴ cfu/mL to 5.4 x10⁴ cfu/mL bacterial counts, respectively. Also, the samples of shito from all the three categories of hotel had microbial load of 3.7 x 10⁴ cfu/mL, 4.6 x 10⁴ cfu/mL and 3.4 x 10⁴ cfu/mL, respectively. Shito from category ‘B’ hotels recorded high levels of microbial loads. In all, fried fish which is common for only category ‘A’ and ‘C’ hotels recorded low observable microbial loads.

Isolates of Salmonella spp in food samples

Salmonella spp has been identified as one of the pathogenic microorganisms that can contaminate food along the food chain. Only Salmonella spp was isolated from the food samples since it was the focus of the study. The results showed that majority of the food samples analysed recorded high level of Salmonella. For instance, salad, plain rice and grilled fish from all the three categories of hotels were contaminated (Fig. 1).

Factors inlfuencing salmonella presence in the foods

The violations of food safety and health regulations can endanger the health and safety of consumers. From Table 2, the results of the observed practices of the food handlers showed that many of them did not comply with personal hygiene, cross-contamination and time and temperature control protocols for safe food handling practices. For example, 71.8% of the food handlers were observed not to wash their hands with soap and water before and during food preparation and service. Meanwhile, 69.2% did not wash their hands after coughing, sneezing and after touching their own body parts. Similarly, 87.2% of the food handlers washed hands in the kitchen sink after using the washroom and 61.5% touched or served cooked food with bear hands or used bear hands to check whether food is well cooked. Besides,

a large percentage (82.6%) of the food handlers were observed refreezing defrosted foods and 76.9% did not regularly check the internal cooking temperature of food.

Table 2

Observed Food Safety Practices of Food Handlers at Hotels in Central and Western Regions
	Yes		No
	F	%	F	%
Personal Hygiene
Head gear worn/hair restraint always worn.	14	35.9	25	64.1
Food handler washes hands with soap and warm water before and during food preparation and service.	11	28.2	28	71.8
Workers washed hands after touching body parts.	12	30.8	27	69.2
Workers wash hands after coughing or sneezing.	12	30.8	27	69.2
Food handler washes hands in between handling raw and cooked food.	24	61.5	15	38.5
Food handlers wear jewelry or false nails during food preparation and service.	17.9	7	32	82.1
Food handler wears gloves during the preparation and serving of ready to eat foods or foods eaten raw.	16	41.0	23	59.0
Food handlers wear nose mask.	14	9	25	64.1
Contamination and cross contamination
Work surfaces and utensils are sanitized after processing raw foods.	27	69.2	12	30.8
Cuts and wounds covered whiles preparing foods.	33	84.6	6	15.4
Workers washed hands in the kitchen sink after using washroom.	5	12.8	34	87.2
Washing hands and drying with kitchen towels.	12	30.8	27	69.2
Touching or serving cooked food with bear hands or using bear hands to check whether food is well cooked	15	38.5	24	61.5
Raw foods are stored below ready-to-eat foods in walk-in storage areas.	17	73.9	6	26.1
Raw foods are stored separately from the cooked foods.	16	69.6	7	30.4
Food stored in first-in-first-out method.	13	56.5	10	43.5
Separate (colour coded if possible) cutting boards for cooked and uncooked foods.	11	47.8	12	52.2
Storing cooked and uncooked foods on the same shelf in the refrigerator.	11	47.8	12	52.2
Storage of vegetables on shelves in the kitchen.	13	56.5	10	43.5
Time/temperature control
Refreeze defrosted foods	4	17.4	19	82.6
Frozen food is thawed using acceptable methods (overnight in the refrigerator or in a bowl of cold water).	11	47.8	12	52.2
Hot food held at appropriate temperature > 140℉/60℃.	16	69.6	7	30.4
Storage of raw meat in the refrigerator is on the bottom shelf.	8	34.8	15	65.2
Internal cooking temperature of food is checked.	9	23.1	30	76.9
Temperature of held food checked after every two hours.	12	30.8	27	69.2

Microbial counts of tested food samples

Microbes are ubiquitous and varied in nature and can be found in diverse surroundings thriving under varying conditions [36, 37]. Though microbes pose different levels of threat to food safety, there are thresholds to which their presence should not exceed. Accordingly, the Intenational Commission on Microbiological Specification for Food (ICMSF) [38] and Health Protection Agency (HPA) [39] stipulate that, for any food sample to be considered wholesome or satisfactory for consumption, it must meet the standard requirement for microbial quality. Unfortunately, majority of the food sampled and tested in this study detected unacceptable high levels of bacterial contamination in varying degrees for cooked and ready-to-eat foods. The presence of microorganisms signal immediate food safety concerns. The findings of this study corroborates the results of previous studies which found high bacterial counts in food samples tested in South Africa [40], Nigeria [41] and other parts of Ghana [42].

The mean bacterial counts in salad in all the three categories of hotels were high (Table 1). Salad dishes are mainly prepared from fresh vegetables, subjected to minimal cooking or could be consumed raw, hence, their microbial content may present a high risk to the health of consumers [43]. The presence of microbes could be due to contamination from farms where human sewage or untreated manure have been used for enriching the soil to enhance vegetable growth and or from water used for irrigation. In addition, the contamination may be due to the food handlers who do not adequately wash the vegetables before cooking. For instance, a study by [44] in Upper East Region of Ghana revealed high levels of bacteria loads in vegetables and irrigated water above the ICMSF [38] and HPA [39] standard of and for food. Furthermore, [45] observed that unsafe water used for pre- and post-harvest production or for washing and sprinkling vegetables to maintain their freshness are possible means of contamination. Thus, vegetables need to be washed sufficiently under running water before processing and also kept cool at holding temperatures of 1ᵒC-5ᵒC before and during service. Our findings agrees with that of some previous ones [26, 30, 31, 46, 47].

The findings further revealed that plain boiled rice served in all the categories of the hotel had high levels of microbial loads. The contamination could be attributed to bacteria spores which may be heat resistant and proliferate even after the rice is cooked. The heavy presence of microbes in the plain rice tested is likely to compromise consumer’s health. This finding is comparable to that of [47, 48] who reported heavy bacterial presence in plain boiled rice served at food service establishments. Moreover, hot pepper sauce recorded high observable bacteria counts above the acceptable limits of [38, 39]. The presence of microbes in the sauce could be ascribed to the use of unwholesome ingredients, insufficient washing of ingredients and inadequate hygiene practices. Thus, should all the bacteria introduced into the sauce at the time of preparation survive, they will proliferate if held for too long at an ambient temperature. So, wholesome ingredients are preferable in preparing these sauces which can be kept at an appropriate temperature after preparation and during service [47, 48, 49, 50].

The findings further indicated that grilled fish and grilled chicken, though cooked at high temperatures, recorded high observable bacteria counts. Fish is highly susceptible to spoilage and can easily become contaminated by pathogens from humans, the fish itself and other environmental factors during processing. Similarly, meat (chicken) typically contains the nutrients needed for both microbial growth and their metabolism, thus, it is more likely to be contaminated by microbes [27]. The contamination of fish and chicken may come from the point of purchase, use of same cutting board and knives for other purposes and or the use of rusty and unclean equipment for grilling. The findings of this study again supports that the previous studies [40, 51, 52] which reported the presence of microbes in grilled fish and chicken.

Furthermore, our findings showed that jollof rice, fried rice, fried fish, banku and shito recorded high levels of microbial loads. The presence of microbes in these food samples could be due to other ingredients used such as spices and condiments, vegetables, poor food handling practices, the equipment used in handling the food, holding temperature and poor hand hygiene practices. For instance, some previous studies have found heavy microbial loads in jollof rice and fried rice samples tested and attributed their unwholesomeness to mycelium fragments from the environment and bacteria spores [48, 53]. Moreover, “banku”, a dish prepared by mashing corn and cassava dough and cooked at high temperature, ideally should record no microbial load. However, the process of rolling the banku into sizeable and presentable shapes by the use of the bear hands and water or wrapping it with single use polyethene or uncontrolled fermentation and inappropriate hygiene practices can contaminate the cooked dish. Likewise, fried fish which is prepared under high temperature also recorded heavy microbial loads above the acceptable limit. According to [52, 54, 55], fresh fish carries large microbial contaminants, 10⁷ on the skin and up to 10⁹ in the gills and guts. These microbes are mostly Gram-negative of the Pseudomonas, Vibrio and Flavobacterium species in addition to other Gram-positive micrococci and coryneform variants. Consequently, the contamination of the fried fish is attributed to poor storage, excessive handling and the transmission of pathogenic microbes through poor hygiene practices [50, 52].

Isolation of Salmonella

The purpose of isolating only Salmonella from the food samples was to establish the causes in the upsurge of typhoid infestation in the study areas as reported by the surveillance data and annual reports of the Regional Health Directorate and the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit. The results on the enumeration of total Salmonella counts (Fig. 1) showed that all the food samples tested were contaminated with Salmonella. For instance, salads from all the hotels indicated the presence of Salmonella, making such ready-to-eat foods easily susceptible to contamination. The isolation of Salmonella spp in the food indicates a major food safety violation, rendering the food microbiologically unsafe for human consumption and public health risk. Salmonella may be linked to unclean food contact surfaces, as it is able to form biofilms which protects the microbes from chemical, mechanical and physical stressors resulting in long-term survival leading to contamination of food in the process. Therefore, is it imperative to keep work surfaces clean and to train food handlers on regular basis to adhere to the WHO food safety guidelines [56, 57]. This may be very apparent especially for ready-to-eat foods like salads to ensure they are safety for public consumption. Similar findings were reported by [26, 58, 59] of high Samonella presence in salads served at food service establishments.

Furthermore, all the cooked food tested (hot pepper sauce, grilled fish, jollof rice, plain rice, grilled chicken, fried fish, shito and banku) from hotels were found to be contaminated with Salmonella (Fig. 1). This is very alarming because cooked food is supposed to have no Salmonella or zero cfu/g/cfu/mL according to ICMSF and HPA [38, 39] guidelines. For instance, though banku recorded the least observable microbial load, it was contaminated with Salmonella. The presence of Salmonella in the cooked foods irrespective of their levels poses a great danger to the health of consumers because Salmonella serotypes have a low infectious dosage implying that they can still cause disease even without proliferating in the food [60, 61]. In addition, it was a surprise to know that shito which has been cooked to completely remove moisture from it to enhance its shelf life was also contaminated with Salmonella. This may be due to the nature of ingredients used, preparation environment and storage equipment. For instance, according to [13], Salmonellae have been identified to survive in herbs and spices used for food preparation thereby contaminating the foods to which they have been added. To prevent this,[13] suggested that food product testing should be carried out at each stage of production to identify and eliminate the contaminants before the final product is produced. Likewise, it is important that food handlers pay attention to their personal hygiene practices, keep equipment and surroundings clean and observe appropriate temperature for storring both cooked and raw food properly to prevent food contamination and spread of diseases to consumers [50, 62, 63].

Possible causes of S almonella presence in food samples

Personal hygiene

Salmonella is one of the major causes of foodborne infections and poor personal hygiene practices during food handling is a plausible avenue for the spread of Salmonella in foods. Thus, the isolation of Salmonella in all the tested food samples indicate non-adherence to good hygiene protocols. Our observations showed that food handlers did not proprely comply with personal hygiene regulations. For instance, majority (71.8%) of the food handlers did not wash their hands before and during food preparation, while others were seen coughing or sneezing openly into the food. That is, food handlers play a significant role in food production and service and determine the safety of food serve to consumers. Food handlers are responsible for all food processing and preparation activities and have direct contact with the food and thus, can be a source of contamination if appropriate food safety measures are not observed. For instance, [64, 65] assert that food handlers can indirectly contaminate food by touching cooked food after handling raw food, coughing/sneezing, touching body parts, dirty material/surface and using the washroom without washing hands. Therefore, handwashing with soap and water is a key factor to curb the transmission of Salmonella into food. It is apparent the presence of Salmonella in the sampled food is attributed to poor handwashing practices. Besides, we observed that 59.0% of the food handlers did not wear gloves whiles handling ready-to-eat foods like salads, thereby introducing Salmonella into the food samples. Therefore, it is important that food handlers adhere to good personal hygiene practices while handling food, for consumer protection. Moreover, [41, 42] revealed poor hygiene practices of food handlers are contributory factors for salmonella presence in food samples tested [65].

Cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is a major cause of Salmonella contamination and can occur at any stage during food preparation and service. Our observation revealed that many of the food handlers engaged in activities that lead to cross-contamination in areas such as handwashing in the kitchen sink after using the washroom, use of same cutting board for cooked and uncooked foods and use of kitchen towels to dry hands after using the washroom. The practice of food handlers washing hands in sinks designated for washing utensils and other cooking equipment is a poor practice which can lead to cross-contamination of food and subsequent transmission of Salmonella to consumers. These findings affirmed the reports of [66, 67]. Also, the use of the same cutting board for handling cooked and uncooked food by food handlers was quite worrying. Cross-contamination between food contact surfaces (cutting boards) is harmful because Salmonella is able to stick to the surfaces and form a biofilm which can become a source of contamination. Cutting boards are made of different materials like wood, plastic, glass and stainless steel and these materials determine the ease in cleaning. However, wood cutting boards for example, are difficult to clean and sanitize due to its porous nature thereby making it convenient for microorganisms to form biofilm on it [68]. Thus, the inability of food handler’s to clean and sanitize these surfaces effectively determine the presence of Salmonella proliferation and contamination of sampled food [69].

Time and temperature control

Failure to control time and temperature is one of the most common causes of Salmonella incidents. The findings of this study showed that many (82.6%) of the food handlers refreeze and defrosted foods thaw/defrost meat in a bowl of water overnight, but did not check the internal temperatures of food on fire while some held foods with their bare hands. The WHO five keys to safer food and the golden rules to safer food required that food is stored and cooked at correct temperatures [57, 58]. For instance, whole chicken should be cooked at 180℃ for 2hrs 10 minutes. The inability of the food handlers to check the internal temperature of cooking and held foods with probe thermometers indicates abuse of time and temperature control regulations and the resultant presence of Salmonella in the food samples tested, as also found by [42, 50]. Besides, the recurrent freeze-thaw practices of the food handlers could increase the microbial load of the frozen food, culminating into Salmonella contamination. For example, [67], reported that recurrent freeze-thaw practices of beef resulted in change in taste, colour, texture, and subsequent deterioration of the beef due to increase in microbial load. They recommended the defrosting of food in the refrigerator, in a bowl under running water or bag the meat into manageable pieces needed for each cooking session to prevent the habit of repeated defrosting and refreezing which could extend the time at the temperature danger zone resulting in Salmonella contamination[12, 70, 71].

Limitation

The Salmonella spp identified in the food samples were not confirmed by confirmatory test that identify the specific serovars causing the typhoid fever upsurge within the two regions. In addition, swabs from the kitchen surfaces and food handlers’ hands should have been taken to conduct further tests on the nature and severity of contamination.

Poor food handling practices can be means of Salmonella contamination, such conditions and practices could facilitate the introduction of Salmonella contaminants into food. The prevention of Salmonella contamination of food therefore, entails all the conditions, practices and measures that prevent food contamination along the food chain, from farm-to-fork. Hence, the control of microorganisms within the food service industry is essential to curtail food contamination and other hazards which may compromise the safety of food served to consumers. The presence of high level of microbial loads in the food samples tested is of public health concern. In addition, the isolation of Salmonella showed that all the food samples were contaminated with Salmonella highlighting a major potential food safety hazard, signifying poor personal hygiene practices, cross-contamination and abuse of time and temperature control regulations. The presence of Salmonella in the food samples is a danger to public health because it can spread and attain an epidemic status. Thus, consistent training tailored to the needs of food handlers in the Central and Western regions of Ghana is required. In addition, there is the need for a robust supportive monitoring and supervision system to ensure that food service personnel comply with safe food handling protocols/standards to safeguard the sanctity of food served and consumer and protect the health of the public.

Competing Interest: The authors declare no competing interest.

Funding: The authors did not receive any specific funding for this work.

Authorship: CES, EWA and BNN conceptualised the study, and designed, CES, BNN and VKD collected data, VKD, EWA and CES analyse data and wrote the draft report of the study. EWA led and supervised the team throughout the process. All authors substantially reviewed the manuscript and approved it for publication.

Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the management and staff of the hotels and their staff for agreeing to participate in the study and the staff of the Microbiology Department School of Biological Sciences University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast for their effort in ensuring the success of the study.

Ethical Approval: Ethical approval for the study was acquired from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of CapeCoast, Ghana (UCCIRB//CES/2020/28), and medical screening and certification of the first author by the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit of Cape Coast, Ghana (Cert. No: 1,057).

Data Availability: Data will be made available upon request.

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Salmonella Contamination: Breach in Food Safety Standards at Hotel Restaurants

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Abstract

Figures

Introduction

Materials and methods

Preparation of culture media

Sample collection

Serial dilution, culturing and enumeration

Isolation of Microorganism

Preparation of pure cultures

Data analysis

Results

Average bacteria counts in the food samples

Factors inlfuencing salmonella presence in the foods

Discussion

Microbial counts of tested food samples

Isolation of Salmonella

Personal hygiene

Cross-contamination

Time and temperature control

Limitation

Conclusion

Declarations

References

Additional Declarations

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