53
Figure 9. Scores of building and facility design and plan based on hygiene and sanitation inspection.
4.2.3 Environmental sanitation
Environmental sanitation implies the hygienic and sanitation conditions surrounding the ready-to-eat food outlets; that is, the external premises of the outlets. In
this research, the front of the premises; drainage system, and waste disposal areas were a few of the areas inspected under environmental hygiene.
Food outlet III when seen from Figure 9 had the best rank for environmental sanitation with no points under serious ; following positive features were noted during
the inspection: front of the outlet was kept clear from obstacles no pallets, timbers, plastics, etc, no animalspests sighted, and no river or water body nearby which would
result in flooding. However, there were a few major and minor issues to be aware of so as to have a clean and safe work area.
For outlet II and III there were issues considered as serious, major and minor to be worked on for improvement. The likes of such were observed for outlet II: a ready-to-
eat fruit stall right in front of the outlet, just beside the entrance, pallets on the pavement in front, cats entering not chased, and dust easily blown into the eating area.
Some of the reasons as to why outlet I had issues under categories: serious, major and minor : it is open to the walkway where all customers and general passersby
walk to and fro, wind carrying dust particles would easily get into the outlet; many cats observed around the eating area and one or two entering the premises not chased; due
to selling many different types of products, cartons, crates, and plastics sitting directly
54 on the floor made the place look so very crowded and difficult to clean therefore dust
and debris beneath or in between the items.
Figure 10. Scores of environmental sanitation based on hygiene and sanitation inspection.
4.2.4 Processing sanitation
The inside activities and conditions of the ready-to-eat food outlets comprising of utensils storage area, utensils and equipments, washing areas, food counters, and
tables and food processing methods were some of the core areas of processing sanitation.
According to Figure 11, the outlets I and II scored under the category of serious, scoring between 1 10, therefore ranked as
. Outlet III was awarded a grade of even though there were a few major and minor issues to overcome; nothing was
recorded under serious issues. Again outlet III had the best record of operational sanitation: no dirty equipment observed on the floor or on the work surfaces apart from
the only chopping board used for cutting soto chicken and meat, floor kept spic and span white clean, roof and wall looking white clean, table surfaces for eating and food
preparation kept clean wiped every time after use, had more than one tea towel for drying utensils.
Outlet I and outlet II had serious and major issues in the operational sanitation respectively. Such issues as: too many things stored in limited space, dirty work area,
water used for washing and rinsing plates stored in buckets outlet I method of rinsing being the most questionable water held and not changed, outlet I having to sell more
55 than one type of product even though having limited space, dirty utensils on the table
and floor, dirty tea towels, overlaid tables. Furthermore, in outlet II, the outlet was small in size and having to cook with poor ventilation created uncomfortable heat in the eating
area. There should be more than one tea towel for drying utensils as a whole day would have one tea towel get soggy.
Utensils and other containers should allow easy cleaning and should not have pitted, grooved or sculpted surfaces. They should not be used for purposes other than
cooking, processing and keeping of food. They should be kept free from contamination from the environment. For example, bowls and dishes should be stored upside-down to
prevent the accumulation of dust, but if the and foreign matter. Equipment, utensils and other containers should be made of materials, which should not promote the growth of
bacteria, like in plastic plates where greasinessoiliness are retained if not washed well in detergents. Similarly, chopping boards should be constructed and maintained so as to
reduce the likelihood of contaminating foods with biological hazards. If raw meats, poultry or fish are handled, their preparation e.g. washing, cutting etc. should be
carried out using separate equipment and utensils e.g. containers, cutting boards and knives, by sanitizing equipment and utensils between uses or by , sequencing food
preparation practices to minimize the opportunity for cross-contamination. Most times food environment are poorly recognized as source of
recontamination, in the case of RTE food outlets, people think in the terms of heat treatments the foods undergo and so lack to keep hygiene and cleanliness of
surroundings including building materials and designs. Detailed proof and facts concerning this issue has only been published occasionally ICMSF, 2002. Fortunately,
the number of publications on investigations of processing environments is increasing slowly, demonstrating an increased awareness Yang et al., 2002. The regular
surveillance of the food preparation environment for significant pathogens relevant to different types of products would be important in providing information on their
incidence and thus on their potential presence in finished products. Analysis of samples from processing environments provides information on the
efficiency of cleaning and disinfection procedures as well as on the efficacy of the preventive measures that have been implemented, such as zoning, limitations of
movements of personnel and goods, cleaning and disinfection programs, etc. This type
56 of surveillance can serve as an early warning and can be complemented by monitoring
hygiene indicators such as Enterobacteriaceae. The food-processing environment is an important but still poorly recognized and
understood source of recontamination. Pathogens may access food-processing environments through raw materials, personnel or mobile equipment such as forklifts,
through leaks and openings in buildings, or through pests. Some pathogens may become established in the processing environment and find niches where they can survive for
long periods of time. Cracks and crevices in floors and walls, interfaces between floor and equipment, hollow structures in the building or in equipment may form such niches.
In certain cases, however, such as in wet environments or following wet cleaning procedures, pathogens may even multiply to high levels. A number of recent
publications devoted to the occurrence of selected pathogenic, spoilage or indicator microorganisms in processing environments clearly demonstrate the importance of this
source Langfeldt et al., 1988; Mead, 1992; Lawrence and Gilmour, 1995; Miettinen et al
., 1999; Fredriksson-Ahomaa et al., 2000; Norton et al., 2001; Thorberg and Engvall, 2001; Fries, 2002; Aantrekker et al., 2003a,b.
Figure 11. Scores of processing sanitation based on hygiene and sanitation inspection.
4.2.5 Water source and usage
Kategori