Heavy metal contamination of cooked foods hawked at Chuka town in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Background: Contamination of cooked foods with heavy metals is an emerging global concern, particularly due to the associated health outcomes and economic considerations. These chemicals are introduced into cooked foods mainly through poor food handling practices and sometimes from their natural milieu such as soil, water, or air. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study analysed 151 food samples collected from 151 hawkers of cooked foods in Chuka town. The samples were analysed for lead, cadmium, and copper using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) assisted by closed microwave digestion. Results: The concentration of lead in the food samples ranged from ?0.001 to 0.7 mg/kg with a mean of 0.207±0.16, cadmium ranged from ?0.001 to 0.933 with a mean of 0.105±0.195, while copper ranged from ?0.001 to 2 mg/kg with a mean of 0.461±0.456. The recorded levels of copper were below the maximum allowable limits in all the food samples. However, 57 (37.7%) and 44 (29.1%) food samples were contaminated with lead and cadmium, respectively. Overall, more than half 86 (57%) of the hawked-cooked foods were contaminated with either lead, cadmium, or both lead and cadmium. Conclusions: Cooked foods hawked at Chuka town are contaminated with either lead, cadmium, or both lead and cadmium. The County government of Tharaka Nithi to champion interventions on preventing the sale of contaminated cooked foods.

Sugar Content of Selected Malaysian Desserts, Snacks and Cooked Foods Commonly Consumed by Malaysian Older Adults / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

@#Excess added sugar consumption is related to poor health outcomes in older adults. The sugar content of local food is limited. However, this information is imperative for understanding potential risks from overconsumption of sugars among older adults. This study was carried out to determine the type and total sugar contents in 70 types of local desserts, snacks and cooked foods, using high performance liquid chromatography. The type of food chosen was based on the highly consumed food by the older adults in Malaysia. The samples were collected in triplicates from local restaurants or stalls located in Selangor, Perak and Johor, stored at -20°C and freeze dried prior to analysis. Results showed that average sugar in each 100 g of local desserts, snacks and cooked foods were 13.69 ± 5.94 g, 8.41 ± 6.15 g and 2.1 ± 1.87 g respectively. The highest sugar content per 100 g samples was found to be in sweet potato donut (kuih keria), mashed banana fritter (cekodok pisang) and noodles with sweet potato gravy (mee rebus). The lowest sugar content per 100 g samples was found to be baked glutinous rice (pulut panggang), vadai and noodle soup (mee sup). Meanwhile, the highest sugar content per standard portion was found to be noodles with sweet potato gravy (mee rebus), peanut pancake (kuih apam balik) and banana savoury (pengat pisang). Percentage of recovery for the sugar analysis was 95.2 ± 6.8%. The main type of sugar found in this analysed food samples was sucrose followed by maltose, glucose, fructose and lactose. Sucrose was the most common added sugars in local desserts, snacks and cooked foods of this study. However, compliance with low added sugar recommendations may not be achievable for the general public. Thus, these findings can be utilised in raising public awareness and assist in better estimation of sugar contents and intake

Expert opinions on improvement of current food code related to hygiene management standards for cooked foods in restaurants / 한국영양학회지

PURPOSE: Needs for reevaluation of food code standards and regulations for cooked foods produced in restaurants and institutional foodservice to minimize risk factors leading to foodborne outbreaks are on the rise. The purpose of the study was to propose updated standards for cooked foods of restaurants by testing whether or not experts agree to include them as a standard. METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative research methods were applied via a survey by email and workshop hold for experts panel discussions. RESULTS: Seven newly proposed standards were selected as follows: (1) sanitizing vegetables and fruits with no heating process after washing, (2) rapid cooling of cooked foods after heating process, (3) monitoring cooking temperatures, (4) minimum 2 hours holding after cooking for temperature control of safety (TCS) foods without temperature control, (5) banning practices for workers such as bare hands handling of ready-to-eat foods, (6) maintaining cleanliness of food contact surfaces for disposable products, and (7) cold holding standards for sushi. CONCLUSION: The proposed proposal can be utilized as control measures for preventing foodborne illness in restaurants. However, a feasibility study should be conducted to test whether they are applicable to the field of restaurant operation.

Microbial Risk Analysis of Cooked Foods Donated to Foodbank(I) / 대한지역사회영양학회지

To ensure the microbiological safety of food items prepared after cooking process, this study was aimed to identify the hazards related with cooked foods donated to foodbanks through quantitative microbial analysis. Five foodbanks located in Incheon and Gyeonggi area among government-dominant foodbanks were surveyed from February to June, 2007. Manager, recipient, donator, type and quantity of donated food, and facility and equipment were examined for the general characteristics of foodbank. The time and temperature of food and environment were measured at steps from after-production to before-distribution, and the microbial analysis was performed mainly with indicator organism and major pathogens. The amount of cooked foods donated to each foodbank was about 20 to 30 servings and consisted of 80% of total donated foods. Only three foodbanks had separate offices for foodbank operation and four institutions had at least one temperature-controlled vehicle. The flow of donated foods was gone through the steps; production, meal service and holding at donator, collection by foodbank, transport (or holding after transport) and distribution to recipients. It took about 3.8 to 6.5 hours at room temperature from after-production to beforedistribution. Only aerobic plate counts (APC) and coliforms were found in microbial analysis. The APC after production were relatively high in 8.2 x 10(5), 7.4 x 10(5), 6.9 x 10(5) and 4.2 x 10(5) CFU/g while 2.8 x 10(6), 9.4 x 10(5), 1.0 x 10(6) and 5.4 x 10(5) CFU/g before distribution in mixed Pimpinella brachycarpa, mixed chard, mixed amaranth and mixed spinach, respectively. The levels of coliforms in mixed chard and mixed spinach were complied with the standards of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Management. The level of APC in boiled pork was increased from < 1.0 x 10 CFU/g to 4.0 x 10(2) CFU/g. One of delivery vessels was shown 6.2 x 10(3)CFU/100 cm2 in APC, which was over the standards for environment. One of serving tables also showed the high level of 1.2 x 10(3) CFU/100 cm2 in APC and 6.6 x 10(2) CFU/100 cm2 in coliforms. These results suggest the sanitary management of holding at donator and the time-temperature control are key factors to ensure the safety of cooked foods donated to foodbank.