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Food Protection Trends
Abstracts - December 2005
The Microbiological Status
of Non/Food Contact Surfaces in Domestic Kitchens and the Growth
of Staphylococcus aureus in Domestic Refrigerators
Factors Impacting Food Workers’ and Managers’ Safe Food Preparation Practices: A Qualitative Study
The Microbiological Status of Non/Food Contact Surfaces in Domestic Kitchens and the Growth of Staphylococcus aureus in Domestic Refrigerators
J. Kennedy-1, I. S. Blair-2, D. A. McDowell-2, and D. J. Bolton-1*
1-Foods Safety Department, Teagasc – The National Food Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland
2 Food Microbiology Research Group, NICHE, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, N. Ireland
Factors Impacting Food Workers’ and Managers’ Safe Food Preparation Practices: A Qualitative Study
Laura R. Green-1*, and Carol Selman-2
1-Health, Social, and Economics Research, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
2-Environmental Health Services Branch, Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services,
National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
SUMMARY
This study collected data on food workers’ self-reported food safety practices and beliefs about factors that impacted their ability to prepare food safely. Eleven focus groups were conducted with food service workers and managers in which they discussed their current implementation of seven food preparation practices (handwashing, hot holding, etc.), and the factors they believed impacted their safe implementation of those practices. Some participants reported unsafe food preparation practices, such as inappropriate glove use and not checking the temperatures of cooked, reheated, and cooled foods. Most participants, however, reported safe practices (e.g., washing their hands after preparing raw meat). Participants identified a number of factors that impacted their ability to prepare food safely, including time pressure; structural environments, equipment, and resources; management and coworker emphasis on food safety; worker characteristics; negative consequences for those who do not prepare food safely; food safety education and training; restaurant procedures; and glove and sanitizer use. Results suggest that food safety programs need to address the full range of factors that impact food preparation behaviors.
Color of Low Dose-Irradiated Ground Beef Before and After Cooking to 60°C or 71°C and Survival of E. coli O157:H7 in Irradiated Patties
Michael D. J. Peirson-1, Donna Ryland-2 & 3, and Richard A. Holley-1*
1-Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural & Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada
2-Department of Human Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Human Ecology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada
3-Present Address: Cereal Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,
195 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M9 Canada
SUMMARY
The effects of electron beam irradiation (1.5 or 2 kGy), vacuum packaging, and end-point temperature (60°C or 71°C) on color of fresh and frozen ground beef were examined. The effect of irradiation on survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 was also examined. Irradiation caused aerobically packaged ground beef to become permanently less red, but irradiated vacuum-packaged fresh ground beef suffered only temporary browning and regained its original redness when exposed to air. Average HunterLab ‘a’ and ‘b’ values were lower for meat patties cooked to 71°C than for meat cooked to 60°C. In cooked patties, the fresh-frozen, vacuum-aerobic, treatment group combinations could not be consistently separated by HunterLab colorimetry. A sensory panel found that patties made from frozen irradiated ground beef appeared fully cooked at only 60°C, but that patties of fresh vacuum-packaged irradiated ground beef appeared similar to non-irradiated patties. In vacuum-packed fresh patties, irradiation (1.1 kGy) killed ≤ 2.9 log 10 cfu/g of E. coli O157:H7.