Purpose: This study determined the level of food safety knowledge and practices during food handling and preparation at household level in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa and also examined selected foods (50 samples) and contact surfaces (50 samples) from households for the presence of aerobic bacteria, aerobic spore formers, anaerobic spore formers, S. aureus, E. coli, Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes.
Methods: Fifty (50) households were selected to participate based on their lifestyles, which was based on monthly income, age and educational level. Questions were asked to determine whether participants have knowledge on meat storage, thawing of meat, handling of meat among other attributes. Conventional methods including enrichment were used to determine aerobic bacteria, aerobic spore formers, anaerobic spore formers, S. aureus, E. coli, Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes in samples however Salmonella spp and Listeria monocytogenes were validated using the 3M Molecular Detection System.
Results: The results of the survey show that the majority of respondents generally relate food safety with food quality and nutrition. However, the study did reveal that a majority of respondents lacked food safety knowledge, although they did show an interest in learning more about good food safety practice. High counts of micro-organisms, including pathogens, were detected on contact surfaces and on the food that was to be consumed. For example all the selected foods were contaminated with L. monocytogenes, Salmonella and E. coli while almost similar trend was observed with contact surfaces although L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were not isolated from plates and cutting boards, respectively.
Significance: This poses a health risk to consumers who eat food that has been incorrectly stored under conditions that afford a high risk of contamination.