Diagnostic and adequacy of the Best Practices in the area of hotel foods and beverages: factors related to the personal and environmental hygiene

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the hands of food handlers and of the surfaces in contact with foods in the hotel food and beverage area, before and after applying the intervention strategy. Two hotel food and beverage areas in Curitiba/PR, were evaluated using a checklist including personal and environmental hygienic criteria. Also, microbiological analyses were performed in samples collected from the handlers hands and from the surfaces in contact with foods, at two moments, before and after applying the intervention strategy. The intervention strategy was carried out for two months, with weekly monitoring by an outsourced professional, who assisted in the elaboration of the action plan and in the necessary improvements related to personal and environmental hygiene. The aerobic mesophilic microorganisms and thermotolerant coliforms were analyzed in the collected samples. The investigated hotels showed improvements in the personal and environmental hygiene and there was a decrease in the aerobic mesophilic microorganisms counting in hands and in contact surfaces. The intervention strategy was efficient for improving the hygienic-sanitary conditions, and the vision of outsourced professional contributed to the adequacy of the routine activities.