Abstract
Food poisoning cases in Malaysia showed an increasing trend every year where 496 episodes were reported in 2018 as compared to 401 episodes in the same week of the year 2017. Bacillus cereus is one of the foodborne pathogens related to food poisoning cases in Malaysia. The main cause for the outbreak of B. cereus is the unregulated temperature during holding time. This study was conducted to detect the presence of aerobic bacteria and B. cereus present in ready-to-eat food in Northern Perak. A total of 83 food samples were collected and analyzed for the microbial count. The result shows that aerobic bacteria and B. cereus were detected in 28% of the samples. B. cereus count in food samples tested ranged from 100 cfu/g to 42000 cfu/g, whereas the aerobic bacteria recorded a range of 500 cfu/g to 2100000 cfu/g. The highest percentage of B. cereus was found in rice-based food, followed by meat, poultry, and gravy dishes. Positive colonies of B. cereus were further tested for anti-microbial resistance profile. Most B. cereus isolates showed resistance to tetracycline and clindamycin.
TopBackground
Food Poisoning Cases in Restaurants
Almost 1 in 10 people in the world fall ill every year after consuming spoiled food, causing 420,000 deaths (FDA, 2018). From 1992 to 2009, 677 restaurant outbreaks reported in England and Wales affected 11,795 people with 491 hospitalizations (Gormley et al., 2012). Department of Standard Malaysia (2020) reported that food and water-borne diseases increased by 12% in 2019 where 97% are food poisoning cases.
Food handling and preparation practices in the restaurant followed by food handlers are the most common contributing factors of food poisoning reported in restaurants in the United State from 1998 to 2013 (Angelo et al., 2017). Numerous studies on local ready-to-eat (RTE) food have linked hygiene practices to the cross-contamination from hands to food (Okareh & Erhahon, 2015 and Lee et al., 2017). Apart from cross-contamination, environmental contamination, and under-cooked dishes were identified as contributing factors of food poisoning in the restaurant in the United Kingdom and Pittsburgh which caused a large outbreak in 2009 and 2013, respectively (Severi et. al., 2012; Torso et al., 2015).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Antibiotic Resistance: This could happen when microorganisms like bacteria develop the ability to resist the drugs designed to destroy them. Antibiotic resistance is a major concern of overuse of antibiotics.
Food Poisoning or Foodborne Illness: An infection or irritation of the digestive tract that is caused by eating contaminated food. The illness is commonly caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Foods: Food products that are pre-cleaned, precooked, mostly packaged, and ready for consumption without prior preparation or cooking. Examples of RTE foods are salads, cooked meats, smoked fish, desserts, sandwiches, cheese, and food that is cooked in advance to serve cold.
Foodborne Illness Outbreak: This outbreak occurs when two or more people experience the same illness resulting from the consumption of the same contaminated food or drinks.
Food Spoilage: This could occur when there are changes in the food through physical, chemical, enzyme deterioration, or microorganisms growth, that lead to the food becoming damage, inedible, or unsafe for human consumption.