Food borne diseases

SPC method
 Relationship of Microorganisms
and food
• Pathogenic or Toxogenic: cause disease
• Beneficial/ desirable( make food)
– Lactobacilli bacteria in fermented food(yoghurt,
pickles)
– Yeast Saccharomyces in Bread and baking
• Deteriorated/ undesirable
– Non-pathogenic: Spoilage
– Fungi, Pseudomonas, Proteus, Bacillus
 Conditions for Spoilage
• Water, pH ,physical structure, oxygen, temperature

Water•
pH •
Physical structure•
Oxygen•
temperature•
 Spoilage of food
• Organisms that cause spoilage
• Pseudomonas , Proteus, Serratia, lactobacillus
micrococcus, fungi such as Aspergillus,
Rhizopus, yeast.
• Spoilage appear as greening , moldy
appearance, Rotting, discoloration, souring ,
bad smell.
 Foodborne disease

is any illness resulting from the consumption of

food contaminated with one or more disease-
producing agents( bacteria, parasites, viruses,
fungi and their products toxic substances)
• Two primary types
– Food infection : due to presence of living organism
– Food poisoning due to presence of toxins
(staphylococcal, botulism, Clostridium perfringens, and
Bacillus cereus food poisoning)
 Food borne infections vs. intoxication
Infections Intoxications
• Bacterial / Viral / parasite • toxins ( natural / preformed bacterial /
chemical)
• Invade and or multiply in lining • No invasion or multiplication
of intestine
• Incubation period- hours to days • Incubation period- minutes to hours

• S/s – Diarrhea , nausea, vomiting , • S/s – Vomiting , nausea, diarrhea ,

abdominal cramps, fever
• Communicable-spreads from
person to person
• Factors-inadequate cooking, cross
contamination , poor personal
hygiene , bare hand contact
diplopia, weakness, resp. failure ,
numbness, sensory/motor dysfunction
• Not communicable
• Factors-inadequate cooking , improper
handling temperatures
 The numbers and types of
microorganisms present on a food are
affected by the following factors;

• The general environment which the food was

originally obtained from
• The microbial content of the food in the
unprocessed state
• The sanitary conditions during the processing
• The adequacy of subsequence packaging,
handling and storage conditions.
 General facts
• Every person is at risk of food borne illness.
• No long-term health threat to average person
• May be serious for very young, very old, people with
long term illness
• Reaction may occur in a few hours or up to several days
after exposure

Symptoms
• Abdominal cramps, headache, vomiting, diarrhea (may
be bloody), fever, death
 After Ingestion of bacteria
1. Will be sick within 6-72 hours after
eating contaminated food. (NOT
usually sick immediately after eating!)
2. Symptoms usually last 4-7 days
3. Most recover without antibiotics
4. Diarrhea can be severe enough to
hospitalize person (dehydration)
 Sources of Pathogens in Food
1-Food itself: soil contaminated, water irrigation
Vibrio, Brucella, Salmonella

2-Food Handlers :Cooks, workers, waiters.

Staph, Salmonella, Shigella, hepatitis

3- Environment:Food storage, sanitation of

markets, utensils and benches,food
transport Bacillus, Yersinia, Campylobacter
 Food risky to food-borne dz.
• Fermented/ pickled food
• sausages, pickled vegetables, yoghurt
• Raw contaminated food
• Raw meat , , milk, salads, chicken
• undercooked food
steaks, eggs, creams, fish
• Readymade food
• canned, frozen , ready made sandwiches
 What to do in case of food poisoning
• Look for pathogenic organisms in food, patient
samples,etc.
• Look for toxins in food
• Must take samples from
1- Patients
2-Handlers
3- Food Leftovers
4- Utensils and boards, storage places
 Detection of m.o. in food
• Conventional cultural techniques
– Standard plate count (SPC)
– Most probable number (MPN), MFT
• Rapid tests biochemical, immunological
– Commercial kits : MMO-MUG, Elisa
• Molecular techniques
– Nucleotide hybridisation
– Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
 Comparison of detection methods

• All methods must be must be rapid and

sensitive
• Methods include:
– Culture techniques – may be too slow
– Rapid biochemical techniques- rapid
– Immunological techniques - very sensitive
– Molecular techniques – new, sensitive and
specific
 Evaluating the sanitary
quality of foods
• It is impractical to analyze all food for
presence of pathogens
• Use of indicator organisms
• If present in greater than allowable No’s, it
indicates that food is not of acceptable sanity
quality. If absent food is almost safe
• SPC method can be used to test different
organisms.
 Standard plate count(SPC)
The process of using standard plate count is to
dilute samples of the material to be tested
with the agar medium, after 48 hours of
incubation at 35c visible colonies are counted
Homogenise food sample(50g of food+450ml of S. saline)
Make ten fold serial dilutions from mixed sample
Plate on suitable selective media
Incubate at 35oC, for24 h.
Colony count
 Analysis of food using ATP photometry
• Breakdown non microbial cells in food ( somatic
cells)to release their ATP
• Remove the non microbial ATP using the enzyme
ATPase
• Release the bacterial ATP from bacterial cells
• Assay the amount of bacterial ATP by the addition
of firefly luciferin/ luciferase
• Record the amount of light emitted using ATP
photometer
• Using a correlation curve to convert relative light
units to colony forming units (cfu's)/ml
 Rapid tests

• Commercial kits: many

• Faster than conventional method
– e.g. the MMO-MUG method for Coliform testing

Negative Positive Negative Positive

E. coli Total Coliform

 Pathogens of Most Concern on Fresh
Produce
• Salmonella Shigella
• Escherichia coli Campylobacter
• Yersinia enterocolitica Staphylococcus aureus
• Clostridium species Bacillus cereus
• Vibrio species
• Viruses (Hepatitis A, Norwalk)
• Parasites/Protozoa- (Giardia, Entamoeba,
Toxoplasma, Sarccystis, Isopora, Cryptosporidium,
Eimeria, Cyclospora)
General Control of food borne disease
• Food inspection
• Check Handlers health
• Education and training for food handlers and
public
• Market sanitation
• Proper transport and storage methods
 Food control In the Home
• Drink pasteurized milk and juices
• Wash hands carefully and frequently
– After using the bathroom, Changing infant’s
diapers, Cleaning up animal feces
• Wash hands before preparing food
• Wash raw fruits and vegetables before eating
• After contact with raw meat or poultry
– Wash hands, utensils and kitchen surfaces with
hot soapy water
 In the Home
• Cook beef/beef products thoroughly
– Internal temperature of 70o C
• Cook poultry and eggs thoroughly
– Internal temperature of 80oC
• Eat cooked food promptly
• Defrost meats in the refrigerator
• Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours after cooking
• Store in shallow containers so that the contents
gets cooled evenly throughout
 Five keys to Safer food
1. Keep Clean –
Wash hands before handling food and often during preparation
Wash hands after going to toilet
Wash n sanitize all surfaces n equipment for food preparation-
protect kitchen from insects , pets
2. Separate raw and cooked food-
Separate raw meat , poultry n seafood from other foods
Use separate utensils for handling raw foods
Store food in containers to avoid contact between raw and
cooked foods
3. Cook Thoroughly –
esp. Meat , poultry , eggs and Seafood
Bring soups n stews to boiling (ensure>70degree temp)
Reheat cooked food thoroughly
 Five Keys to Safer Food
4. Keep food at safe temperature -
Don't leave cooked food at room temp.>2 hours
Prompt refrigeration of cooked n perishable food
Keep cooked food piping hot(>60 de.) prior to serving
Don’t store food too long even in refrigerator
Don’t thaw frozen food at room temperature
5. Use safe water and raw materials-
• Use safe water or treat to make it safe
• Select fresh and wholesome fruits
• Choose foods processed for safety - pasteurized milk
• Wash fruits n vegetables if eaten raw
• Don’t use food beyond expiry date
 Prevention of Food Borne diseases
WHO ‘ten golden rules
 Food processed for safety
 Thoroughly cook
 Eat immediately
 Store carefully
 Reheat thoroughly
 No contact between raw & cooked
 Wash hands
 Keep food preparation surfaces clean
 Protect from pests
 Use potable water
 CONCLUSIONS
• 1. It is important to realize that with any of the method of analysis for
pathogen or indicator, there is no absolute guarantee of success.
• 2. The organisms under test can be missed completely (false negative) or
other organisms can mimic positive results giving rise to false positives.
• 3. Developing and improving methods of analysis for pathogens and
indicators is an area of intensive and continuing research.
• 4. This is particularly the case where `new’ pathogens are concerned and
a widely accepted method needs to be established.
• 5. Even when techniques are well established, research continues to try
and improve sensitivity, eliminate false positive and reduce the time
taken to obtain results.