Assessment of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Of Fast Food (Momo) from Restaurants of Kathmandu Metropolitan City with Respect to Environmental Condition

Abstract

Economic factors and employment patterns have led to an increment in the consumption of meals outside the home. So to satisfy the basic demand of people, “Fast-food” and “Take away” restaurants have flourished in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. In the context of Nepal, although, there has been no such report of food-borne illness incidence due to consumption of meals in the fast food restaurants, but now there is an urgency to check out the microbiological status of the fast food being served which have in a way or other impact in the health of the consumers. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) module was prepared for one of the most popular fast food momo (chicken momo and buff momo), common menu items of each and every fast food restaurants. For this, hazard analysis was conducted in eight different restaurants of Katmandu City by observing all the steps of preparation, monitoring time-temperature throughout the process and collecting samples of different stages of these food. The samples were assessed for total aerobic mesophilic count (TAMC), total coliform count, total S. aureus count, total yeast and mold count, detection of Salmonella spp. and E. coli. Surveillance study was also conducted in those restaurants to identify the hygienic condition, holding and storage practices of those products and handling during serving. Similarly, air environment, sanitary status of the utensils and equipments like chop-board, serving plate, storage vessel of meat, mincer were too detected for the presence of pathogenic micro-organisms. The survey results revealed the fact that the knowledge of sanitation among the restaurant owners and employees were limited. The air environment of the restaurants surveyed was found to be similar in all the restaurants with Bacillus spp. being the most predominant one. Restaurant of site D had fecal coliform contamination in water which became the source of high coliform load in food samples. Similarly, restaurant of site G too had coliform in water which also became the cause of higher coliform load in food samples of that restaurant. The sanitary result of the utensils and equipments showed the presence of S. aureus. During preparation of chicken momo, the highest TAMC, yeast and mold count, coliform count and S. aureus count were found to be 2.8 × 106cfu/gm, 2.1 × 103cfu/gm, 1.92 × 105cfu/gm and 3.4 × 103cfu/gm respectively. The samples of pickles, spices, raw momo, mixture of minced meat with spices and raw meat were found to be contaminated with higher microbial load. While preparation of buff momo, the highest TAMC, yeast and mold count, coliform count and S. aureus count were found to be 2.82 × 106cfu/gm, 1.9 × 103cfu/gm, 2.1 × 105cfu/gm and 2.8 × 103cfu/gm respectively. These values and near to these values too were obtained from the samples of pickles, spices, raw momo, mixture of minced meat with spices and raw meat. The organisms originally present in the raw materials were subsequently transmitted to all the preparatory stages but was not observed after steaming and hence the final steamed product of both kinds of momo were free from microorganisms. From all the samples analysed, Salmonella spp. was absent. Thus from the above findings, it was concluded that steaming was the main Critical Control Point (CCP) which if done for proper time and temperature can eliminate all the contaminating organisms. Personal hygiene, handling and holding time-temperature are also the effective factors which have direct effect on microbial load of foods. Though, Food Act exists in Nepal, legislative controls, regular supervision and monitoring should focus in order to combat the threat of existing or potential microbial hazards in food service establishments.