RESUMO
Introduction: Bread, the staple food for most people in the world, especially the Middle East, including Iran has particular importance from nutritional, health, and social points of view. It is critical to pay attention to the hygiene status of production and consumption of bread. This study was done to investigate the hygiene status and consumption of baking soda in the bakeries of Bandar Abbas, Iran, in 2012
Methods: This is a descriptive study conducted in Bandar Abbas, Iran. The study population consisted of all types of bakeries in the urban area. To check the status of health and personal hygiene of bakeries, the check list of Iranian Ministry of Health was used. PH in the samples was tested based on the method presented by Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran [No. 37]. The pH of each specimen was measured in triplicate separately, and the average value was recorded as the pH of bread produced in that bakery
Results: In terms of health status, 6.4% of bakeries were at good level, 27.9% at moderate and 65.7% at weak level. Totally, 14.2% of bakeries used baking soda in their bread production, mostly with Lavash [21%] and Taftoon[16%] breads
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, health status, particularly, personal hygiene, was not desirable. Moreover, baking soda consumption was also common in bakeries. Hence, control of health status and avoiding baking soda consumption in the bakeries are necessary