18D-25

C. M. COSBY¹, P. M. Davidson², W. C. Morris², C. A. Costello³, B. Haughton⁴, and M. J. Devereaux⁵. (1) Dept. of Food Science and Technology, Univ. of Tennessee, 2509 River Dr., Knoxville, TN 37996-4539, (2) Dept. of Food Science & Technology, Univ. of Tennessee, 2509 River Dr., Knoxville, TN 37996-4539, (3) Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1911, (4) Dept. of Nutrition, Univ. of Tennessee, (5) Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences Extension, Univ. of Tennessee

According to CDC, foodborne illness causes approximately 5,000 deaths each year and approximately 2,500 of those are children. Since child care facilities are an important part of current society, there is a need to survey and assess sanitation of food preparation areas within these facilities. The objective of this study was to survey the microbiological quality of food service surfaces and a non-food contact surface in child care facilities. Samples were taken three times a day (pre-opening, lunch, and following clean up), twice per month, for seven months in six facilities (n=252) representing large (>100 children) and small (< 50 children) centers. Three food contact surfaces (two kitchen and one serving area) and a diaper changing area were tested. For each, a 50 square cm area was swabbed using sterile swabs and the aerobic plate count (APC), coliform and Escherichia coli counts were done for each surface. Mean log APCs over the survey period were 1.32, 1.72, 1.28, 2.01, 1.48, and 1.82 CFU/sq. cm for centers 1 through 6, respectively. Mean coliform counts were 1.5, 20.3, 6.4, 100.9, 11.6, and 22.5 CFU/sq. cm for the same respective centers. Large centers had lower APC (log 1.54 CFU/sq. cm) and coliform (11.9 CFU/sq. cm) counts than small centers (log 1.66 and 40.7 CFU/sq. cm). E. coli was detected in 16 of 1008 (1.6%) samples and ranged from 1 to 35 CFU/sq. cm. These findings demonstrate that microbial contamination is present on food contact surfaces of child care facilities. Due to the high risk of foodborne illness associated with children, the possibility of cross-contamination from food service or non-food contact surfaces to foods is an aspect of food safety that requires more attention. Emphasis on training and the development of standard sanitation operating procedures (SSOPs) is needed to reduce potential hazards.

Session 18D, Food Microbiology: General
2:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Sunday PM Room Hall I-2

2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana