Prevalence of, and Genetic Relationship Between, Coliforms in Food, Foodhandlers and Contact Surfaces Factors Affecting Food Hygiene

Abstract

Coliforms have been used as indicator organisms in examinations of food for fecal contamination and for the identification of unsanitary conditions in food outlets. In the present study we determine the prevalence of coliforms isolated from foods, kitchen utensils and the hands of those involved in the preparation of food.  The study is based on, samples collected from 100 food items, 45 foodhandlers’ hands, 27 cutting boards and 40 knife handle surfaces in six different canteens on a university campus during the 2017- 2018 academic year. The presence of coliforms was confirmed with biochemical tests and the PCR amplification of 16s rRNA. Gradient PCR was used subsequently for isolation followed by a sequence analysis to determine any association. In all, 14 Escherichia coli, 32 Klebsiella pneumoniae ve altı Citrobacter spp. izolatlar, bir gradyan PCR ve sekans analizinde gıda işçisinin ellerinden, yiyeceklerinden ve yüzeylerinden tanımlandı. Ayrıca ellerde ve kesme tahtalarında, sosis, ızgara tavuk, sotelenmiş tavuk, Urfa kebabı ve tavuk dönerde E. coli izolatları;  Klebsiella pneumoniae eller, ızgara tavuk, bıçak sapları, köfte ve kesme tahtalarından izole edildi; ve Citrobacter spp. el, sosis, kesme tahtaları ve ızgara tavuklardan elde edildi.