“Control microbiológico del servicio de catering de la fábrica Plastiazuay en la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

Food-borne diseases are associated with the ingestion of contaminated food, the microbiological evaluation is of great importance due to the consequences of this phenomenon in the health and economic fields. In order to carry out a microbiological control in the catering service of the Plastiazuay factory, a cross-sectional and descriptive observational study was carried out, for which samples of food prepared with and without heat treatment and control of living surfaces (hands manipulator) and inert (utensils) of the catering service. For inert surfaces, the samples were collected using the swab method and for live surfaces was used the rinsing method. The analyzes were carried out in the Microbiology laboratory of the Food area of the Faculty of Chemical Sciences of the University of Cuenca. Amounts of total coliforms and E. coli were found in prepared foods that were higher than the limit allowed by MINSA RM N ° 615-2003. In the inert surfaces, values of total coliforms that exceeded the allowed limits were obtained, while the living surfaces had 100 % compliance, both for total coliforms and S. aureus. A triptych was carried out as educational intervention directed to the person who performs the catering service in order to improve their knowledge and practices and thus guarantee the quality of the food. The training initially planned could not be carried out due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the delivery of the triptych was carried out via email, because the company dispensed with its services.