Microbial Safety of Foods in Selected Senior High Schools
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Date
November, 2018
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Abstract
Mass feeding which is carried out at most SHS to feed students stands a higher risk of microbiological contamination relative to small scale food preparation because of issues associated with handling. This study thus, was aimed at determining the microbial safety of foods served in some selected Senior High Schools. Eighteen (18) food samples including breakfast, lunch and supper were sampled from four (4) selected SHS in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Samples collected were subjected to microbial analysis for estimation of Escherichia coli (EC), Salmonella species (SS), Staphylococcus aureus (SA), Bacillus cereus (BC), total viable count (TVC) and total coliform levels (TC). Microbial counts were expressed as means and the data exported to IBM SPSS v25. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine statistically significant difference of microbial loads between all samples. The schools had all their food samples falling within acceptable limits for TVC which implies that the general hygiene status of the food samples is satisfactory. However only one school had all its samples falling within acceptable limits for TC, the rest had 25% -30% contamination from pathogens hence a setback in the efficiency of sanitation programs in SHS. With the exception of two different schools with each having its food samples falling within the acceptable limits for SA and SS, the remaining had 25%-50% contamination from SA and 25% contamination from SS. For BC there was 25% contamination from all the schools. Staphylococcus aureus had the highest percentage occurrence in the food samples followed by B. cereus and E. coli respectively. Contaminations such as TVC, TC, SA, SS and BC are usually due to absence of consistent rigorous surveillance and weak implementation of the law in institutional kitchens thus a system to monitor and control the generally food chain in the country from farm to fork, including suppliers of raw materials to SHS is required.
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A thesis submitted to the Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Science, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Food Quality Management.