Journal Information
Vol. 35. Issue S2.
The 3rd International Nursing and Health Sciences Students and Health Care Professionals Conference (INHSP)
Pages S413-S416 (January 2021)
Visits
Not available
Vol. 35. Issue S2.
The 3rd International Nursing and Health Sciences Students and Health Care Professionals Conference (INHSP)
Pages S413-S416 (January 2021)
Open Access
Personal hygiene and bowls sanitation of meatball cart traders
Visits
2090
Hasnawati Amqama,
Corresponding author
, Syamsuar Manyulleia, Andi Wahyunib, Nasrahc, Nurul Aqilah Gunawana, Ismi Yunita Saria
a Environmental Health Department, Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Indonesia
b Occupational Safety and Health Department, Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Indonesia
c Health Promotion Department, Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Indonesia
This item has received

Under a Creative Commons license
Article information
Abstract
Full Text
Bibliography
Download PDF
Statistics
Tables (4)
Table 1. Respondents characteristic of meatball cart traders in Makassar city.
Table 2. Knowledge on washing, drying, and storage technique of bowls of meatball cart traders in Makassar city.
Table 3. Personal hygiene of the vendors.
Table 4. Bowl washing, drying and storing technique of meatballs vendors.
Show moreShow less
Special issue
This article is part of special issue:
Vol. 35. Issue S2

The 3rd International Nursing and Health Sciences Students and Health Care Professionals Conference (INHSP)

More info
Abstract
Objective

The purpose of this study is to describe the personal hygiene and sanitation of food cutlery (bowl) on meatball cart traders at Makassar City.

Methods

This research using descriptive observational with non-probability sampling techniques and accidental sampling method.

Results

80% respondents had good personal hygiene. Almost all respondents qualify the requirement of hand and finger hygiene, as well as hair hygiene. For clothes hygiene indicators, most qualify the requirements. As for the indicators of handwashing practices and the use of gloves, all respondents did not qualify the requirements. While the results of research related to food cutlery sanitation showed that knowledge that 86.7% were high, but many still did not know washing water requirements and bowl conditions when in storage.

Conclusion

Most handlers attitude was categorized as adequate. It is suggested that the meatball cart traders always pay attention to hand hygiene and sanitation of cutlery to avoid bacterial contamination.

Keywords:
Food handlers
Hygiene
Meatball traders
Sanitation
Full Text
Introduction

Poor concern for food safety is a major source of illness and has been linked to more than 2000 diseases.1 Adequate quantities of safe and nutritious foods are used to sustain and promote good health, while the unsafe variety possibly contains harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances.2

Meatball is one of Indonesia's most popular street foods and mostly sold by mobile hawkers, using a cart. As meat based-food, meatballs have a high risk of microbial contaminants from numerous sources. Its high protein content provides the ideal medium for the growth of pathogenic organisms.3 Furthermore, high water content during processing has been associated with the accelerated growth and brings in a favourable pH for most enteric microorganisms.4 The cart moves from one place to another, thus having a huge opportunity to contact with bacteria in anyplace they passed by. Mostly, the sellers unable to maintain their hygiene routines, such as handwashing before and after contact with food or other things. It is due to insufficient facilities in supporting personal hygiene, such as duster, soap, or cleaning water, resulting in bacteria multiplication. As peddlers have a high potency to contact with bacteria in the served food,5 they are suggested to tailor with a healthy behaviour concerning food-management.

In Korea and Taiwan, food sanitation was significantly more important than the satisfaction of consumers on taste.5 Application of food sanitation considers several factors of place, food, people, food processing equipment, and cutlery.6 Peddling results in the limitedness of facilities brought such as duster, soap, and cleaning water. It is associated with poor personal hygiene and sanitation on cutlery by which bacterial contamination was unforeseen.

Food handlers influence the protection of food from bacterial infection. They determine the food quality as could spread to the food.5 Producing, packing, and purchasing processes often become conveyors of microbes. The commencement of food-borne illness has been related to improper cooking and storage.4 Unsafe handling practice of food also contributes to the existence of bacteria. Therefore, safer practices prevent the spread of food-borne diseases.

This study aims to describe the attitude of meatball vendors during food preparation. The results are expected to contribute as information towards the improvement of vendor or awareness, in terms of safe handling practices and also to clarify the individuals’ potential role in food pathogen transmission.

Methods

This was a descriptive observational study, conducted in the three districts of Makassar City, including Makassar, Ujung Tanah, and Tamalanrea.

Sampling procedure

Thirty mobile meatball vendors in the three districts were included accidentally for this study.

Hygiene and sanitation knowledge and attitude

The vendors were interviewed by means of a questionnaire asking their knowledge on utensil washing, drying, and storage technique. The vendor attitude was evaluated through observation sheets. These include considerations for hand hygiene, cleanliness of hair and clothes, hand washing practice, and the use of gloves. Also, the manner of handling the used bowl was observed. Each item was evaluated based on some indicators.

ResultRespondents characteristic

The age of the respondents varied from 18 to 25 years (36.7%) to >35 years (36.7%). The respondents were classified into three categories of selling duration, and most of them have been meatball cart sellers for <10 years. Most of the traders sell around Makassar sub-district (50%), followed by Ujung Tanah (33.3%), and Tamalanrea (16.7%). This characteristic is presented in Table 1.

Table 1.

Respondents characteristic of meatball cart traders in Makassar city.

Respondents characteristic  Frequency
  n 
Age
18–25  11  36.7 
26–35  26.6 
>35  11  36.7 
Peddling duration
<10 years  15  50 
10–25 years  30 
>25 years  20 
Peddling location
Makassar sub-district  15  50 
Ujung Tanah sub-district  10  33.3 
Tamalanrea sub-district  16.7 

Table 2 shows that 86.7% of the respondents had high knowledge of the dishwashing, drying, and storing method. Tables 3 and 4 present data on vendor hygiene and sanitation during food preparation. It can be seen in Table 3 that most individuals demonstrated good hand cleaning, and use hands alone to prepare food, without utensil, including spoons and forks. Moreover, most respondents wear clean and bright clothes, but no one made use of apron and gloves. In addition, all vendors tend to evade hand washing before and after preparing food or touching other objects. Also, the handling of bowls after use was substandard, as depicted in Table 4.

Table 2.

Knowledge on washing, drying, and storage technique of bowls of meatball cart traders in Makassar city.

Categories  Frequency
  n 
High  26  86.7 
Low  13.3 
Total  30  100 

Source: Primary data, 2019.

Table 3.

Personal hygiene of the vendors.

Indicators  YesNoTotal
  n  n  N 
Hand cleaning
Hands and fingers look clean  29  96.7  3.3  30  100 
Nails were short and clean  17  56.7  13  43.3  30  100 
Not use nail polish and accesories  29  96.7  3.3  30  100 
No wound at hand/Close the wound when exist  29  96.7  3.3  30  100 
No scratching during food preparation  30  100  30  100 
Using tools during food preparation  30  100  30  100 
Hair
Short and neat  29  96.7  3.3  30  100 
Clothes
Wearing clean apron during food preparation  30  100  30  100 
Wearing bright colour clothes  21  70  30  30  100 
Wearing clean clothes  27  90  10  30  100 
Hand washing practice
Washing hand with running water and soap before and after food preparation  30  100  30  100 
Washing hand with running water and soap before and after touching other objects  30  100  30  100 
Gloves
Wearing gloves during food preparation  30  100  30  100 
Table 4.

Bowl washing, drying and storing technique of meatballs vendors.

Washing technique  YesNoTotal
  n  n  N 
Water in the last washing bucket is clean  16.7  25  83.3  30  100 
Enough water to wash the dish  6.7  28  93.3  30  100 
Bucket to rinse is available  6.7  28  93.3  30  100 
Using soap for dish washing  30  100.0  00.0  30  100 
Drying technique  YesNoTotal
  n  n  N 
Drying bowl with clean clothes  11  36.7  19  63.3  30  100 
Different clothes for bowl and working surface  25  83.3  16.7  30  100 
Wet and dry clothes are available  20.0  24  80.0  30  100 
Storage technique  YesNoTotal
  n  n  N 
Closed storage  26.7  22  73.3  30  100 
Clean storage  14  46.7  16  53.3  30  100 
The bowl put in reverse position  6.7  28  93.3  30  100 
The bowl in the storage is dry  15  50.0  15  50.0  30  100 

From five investigated categories on personal hygiene, 53.3% of the respondents had already followed hands and finger hygiene altogether with hair and clothes, respectively 96.7% and 63.3%. In contrast, all the respondents (100%) had not done the practice of handwashing and wearing gloves.

Discussion

Food handlers’ attitude while preparing meatballs contribute to increasing of bacteria present on the cutlery and food.7 Thus, protection of food from contamination of microorganisms must be ensured by maintaining personal hygiene, and it becomes the responsibility of the vendors in handling their product.

Hands are the main part of the body, implicated in the food handling process, and infectious diseases are generally disseminated through the faecal–oral tract, with hand to mouth contact. The incidence of bacteria-contamination often results from poor hygiene.8 This study found that majority of respondents had adequate personal hygiene in most of the indicators except utilizing utensil for preparing the meatball. They still used their hand without gloves for that. This result is congruent with the report by Lambrechts et al. (2014) that low cleanliness was reported for food handlers, hence they need to improve knowledge.9 Another study showed good nail and hands hygiene in 86.7% of respondents.10

Regular handwashing with soap is a leading indicator of personal hygiene which diminishes bacterial contamination from hands to food. Furthermore, the procedure is essential for food handlers, due to the frequent contact with food and cutlery during preparation, cleaning, processing, mobilization, and serving.11 Moreover, unwashed hands are more likely to increase microorganism load, inclined towards processing food contamination. The attitude of wearing gloves is suggested to preclude the interaction between bare hands and the served food, in efforts to hamper the transmigration of pathogenic organisms. However, all respondents in this research did not wear gloves, thus increasing the contamination risk. The dirtiness of hands is responsible for the bacteria discovered, as vendors also evaded good hand washing practice before making contact with the meatball. This outcome is congruent with previous reports, where hands swabs showed a significant amount of bacteria colony, resulting from improper washing behaviour, as well as periodic replacement of dishwater, and poor personal hygiene.12 A similar result was presented in study13 where most respondents avoided the use of gloves. Despite the use of personal protective equipment, cleanliness is uncertain because of inadequate washing or cleaning, daily, result in a high risk of bacteria-contaminated food.13 The recommended gloves ought to be disposable and used once, particularly after touching raw food, money, and after scratching limb. In addition, gloves have become a potential source of bacterial contamination.14

With regards to washing, drying, and storage technique for bowls, the dishwater appeared dirty, turbid and mixed with food waste. Also, it is important to use the washing water present in the bucket for a maximum of one or two times. However, 20% of traders failed in these criteria. This result also supported by research that suggested the use of caps, masks, gloves, and decent clothes while handling food. This attitude is a positive approach towards reducing bacterial contamination, with particular concerns on the situation of abrasions and cuts on fingers or hands. Also, painted and long nails are not permitted to touch unwrapped foods, and it is crucial to consider proper sanitation of knives and cutting boards, as well as the use of towels.7

Conclusion

The presence of microorganisms in hands and food triggers the onset of food-borne illness to the consumers. Most respondents demonstrated good personal hygiene, and complied with the requirements for nail, finger and hair cleanliness. In addition, a majority met the clothing criteria, but defective in the indicators of proper handwashing, as well as the use of gloves.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval was obtained from Ethic Committee, Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, using the letter number 2374/UN.4.14.8/TP.02.02/2019. Also, Informed consent was obtained from the vendors prior to the collection of samples.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the laboratory technician for the assistance provided during analysis, and also to all the respondents for the participation and corporation.

References
[1]
Z. Gizaw.
Public health risks related to food safety issues in the food market: a systematic literature review.
Environ Health Prev Med, 24 (2019), pp. 68
[2]
WHO.
Food safety.
(2017),
[3]
I.I. Arief, B.S.L. Jenie, T. Suryati, et al.
Antimicrobial activity of bacteriocin from indigenous Lactobacillus plantarum 2C12 and its application on beef meatball as biopreservative.
J Indones Trop Anim Agric, 37 (2012), pp. 90-96
[4]
M.F. Al-Mutairi.
The incidence of Enterobacteriaceae causing food poisoning in some meat products.
Adv J Food Sci Technol, 3 (2011), pp. 116-121
[5]
N. Joo, P. Sanghyun, L. Bohee, et al.
Importance-satisfaction analysis of street food sanitation and choice factor in Korea and Taiwan.
Nutr Res Pr, 9 (2015), pp. 296-303
[6]
S.N.A. Puteri, R. Rahmawati, D. Darmiah.
Penggunaan Alat Pengatur Konsentrasi Kaporit (Ca(ClO)2) dalam Meningkatkan Efektifitas Desinfeksi Peralatan Makan.
J Kesehat Lingkung J dan Apl Tek Kesehat Lingkung, 14 (2017), pp. 485
[7]
F. Akabanda, E.H. Hlortsi, J. Owusu-Kwarteng.
Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of institutional food-handlers in Ghana.
BMC Public Health, 17 (2017), pp. 1-9
[8]
H. Amqam, M.F. Natsir, Y. Thamrin, et al.
Bacteria contamination analysis on the hands and bowls of meatball cart vendors: an observational descriptive study.
Gac Sanit, 35 (2021), pp. S71-S75
[9]
A.A. Lambrechts, I.S. Human, J.H. Doughari, et al.
Bacterial contamination of the hands of food handlers as indicator of hand washing efficacy in some convenient food industries.
Pakistan J Med Sci, 30 (2014), pp. 755-758
[10]
R. Rachmawati, P.T. Ningrum, R.S. Pujiati.
Praktik Higiene Personal dan Keberadaan Bakteri Escherichia coli pada Tangan Penjamah Makanan (Studi pada Pedagang Kaki Lima di Jalan Kalimantan Kecamatan Sumbersari Kabupaten Jember).
Artik Has Penelit Mhs Univ Jember, (2015),
[11]
S. Purwanti, A. Arundina, S.N. Yanti.
Perilaku mencuci tangan terhadap angka koloni kuman pada penjamah makanan di kantin Universitas Tanjungpura.
Vokasi Kesehat, 1 (2015), pp. 64-69
[12]
S. Fathonah.
Higiene dan sanitasi makanan.
UNNES Press, (2005),
[13]
L.I. Ardhayanti, U.A. Azham, D.I. Reynaldi.
Hubungan antara personal hygiene pedagang dengan keberadaan Escherichia coli di warung makan indomie (Warmindo) sekitar universitas islam indonesia.
(2018), pp. 1-12
[14]
NDSC.
Preventing foodborne disease: a focus on the infected food handler.
(2004),

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 3rd International Nursing, Health Science Students & Health Care Professionals Conference. Full-text and the content of it is under responsibility of authors of the article.

Copyright © 2021. SESPAS
Idiomas
Gaceta Sanitaria
Article options
Tools
es en

¿Es usted profesional sanitario apto para prescribir o dispensar medicamentos?

Are you a health professional able to prescribe or dispense drugs?