Control microbiológico de ensalada de frutas que se expende en espacios públicos de la ciudad de Cuenca-Ecuador

Abstract

Due to the necessity on the part of the municipal authorities of the city in Cuenca, to know the hygienic-sanitary state in which the products sold in the streets of the city are found, and their risk to the health of the consumer. The present research had as objective to perform a microbiological control of the fruit salads that are being sold on the streets of the city. The study sample was determined based on the cadastre of the Municipal GAD of street vendors, other vendors from different areas of the city were included to make the sample more homogeneous, avoiding the historic center. The microbiological analysis was performed using 3MTM PetrifilmTM plates for mesophilic aerobic counts and Escherichia coli, for the detection of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes Reveal 2.0 techniques were used. The results were compared with the Peruvian Technical Standard RM Nº615-2013, section 14.2 that establishes sanitary quality microbiological criteria for semi-processed fruits and vegetables, because in Ecuador there is no specific regulation for these products. The statistical analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel 2010, applying descriptive statistics.

The results obtained indicate that 72.5% of analyzed samples do not comply with the normative parameters, due to the high mesophilic aerobic counts, however a low E. coli count was obtained, absence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. Finally, a training was carried out with the Department of Urban Control of the Municipal GAD to manipulators of fruit salad, on Good Practices of Food Handling.