Hygienic and technical assessment of the work process in the catering facilities

Uvod: Danes velik javnozdravstveni problem predstavljajo okužbe in/ali zastrupitve z živili, ki so pomemben vzrok obolevnosti in umrljivosti ljudi. Visoko stopnjo tveganja predstavljajo: izvor živil iz nečistega okolja, slaba osebna higiena oseb, ki rokujejo z živili, pomanjkljivo znanje o higieni živil, neustrezno shranjevanje in priprava živil, neustrezen čas in temperatura obdelave ter navzkrižna kontaminacija. Pomembno je poudariti vlogo nosilcev živilske dejavnosti, ki morajo poskrbeti za redna izobraževanja in usposabljanja zaposlenih kot tudi za ustrezne higiensko-tehnične razmere gostinskih obratov in s tem zmanjšati možnosti za nastanek okužb in/ali zastrupitev s hrano. Namen dela: Oceniti higiensko-tehnično stanje izbranih gostinskih obratov po vnaprej določenih kriterijih in z odvzemom brisov na snažnost. Ugotoviti znanje zaposlenih v gostinstvu na področju higiene živil. Metode: Opazovanje delovnega procesa v izbranih gostinskih obratih smo izvedli po higiensko-tehničnih kriterijih s pomočjo opazovalne liste, znanje zaposlenih o higieni živil smo ugotavljali z validiranim anketnim vprašalnikom. Prav tako smo v izbranih gostinskih obratih z delovnih površin in rok zaposlenih odvzeli po deset brisov za oceno snažnost. Rezultati: Higiensko-tehnično stanje gostinskih obratov je v večini skladno z zahtevami razen na področju higiene rok zaposlenih. Znanje le-teh je poleg osebne higiene pomanjkljivo na področju varnosti živil in higiene v kuhinji. Več kot polovica odvzetih brisov iz vseh obravnavanih gostinskih obratov je bilo nesnažnih, najbolj kritična mesta pa so bila: deske za meso, salamoreznice in delovni pulti. Razprava in zaključek: Zaposleni s pomanjkljivim znanjem o higieni živil predstavljajo največji dejavnik tveganja, saj z neustreznim ravnanjem kjub ustreznemu higiensko-tehničnemu stanju gostinskih obratov lahko kontaminirajo živila v procesu skladiščenja, priprave in obdelave živil ali serviranja. Veliko tveganje predstavlja tudi higiensko stanje površin, zato bi bilo smiselno zaposlene redno ozaveščati o pomenu čiščenja in dezinfekcije.Introduction: In this day and age, foodborne outbreaks present a big problem for the public health, since they are often an important reason for higher illness rates and mortality. High degrees of risk present: unclean environment where foods are produced, bad personal hygiene of people that operate with foods, insufficient knowledge about food hygiene, unsuitable food storage and preparation, unsuitable processing time or processing temperature and, lastly, cross contamination. It is also important to emphasize the role of food business operator – they are the ones that need to provide regular training and education for employees and care for suitable hygiene and technical conditions in order to minimize chances for foodborne outbreaks. Purpose: Rating the hygiene and technical conditions of chosen food establishments by criteria that were defined before and with swab tests of working surfaces and workers´ hands. Testing the knowledge of food handlers that work in food establishments and catering business (more specifically hygiene sections). Methods: Observation of the work process in chosen food establishments was performed with the help of an observation list and by following hygiene/technical criteria. Testing of the employees’ knowledge about the hygiene of foods was executed with the help of a validated survey questionnaire. 10 swab test were also taken from working surfaces and food handlers hands in every chosen food establishment. Results: The hygiene/technical condition of catering businesses was, with the exception of food handlers hands, mostly in accordance with demands. In addition to sufficient personal hygiene, employees also lack knowledge in the field of food safety and kitchen hygiene. More than half of the swab tests came out as unclean with cutting boards, meat slicers and counters being most critical. Discussion and conclusion: Food handlers with deficient knowledge of food hygiene represent the highest risk factor. Because of improper handling they can contaminate food in the process of storage, preparation and serving of food or treatment, despite adequate hygienic and conditions of food establishments. A great risk is also the hygienic condition of the surface, so it would make sense for employees to regularly raise awareness of the importance of cleaning and disinfection