Study evaluates the microbial quality of aircraft food at JKIA Nairobi

Have you ever thought about the microbiological quality of aircraft food? I recently read an article in the journal Science Research on a study that evaluated the microbiological quality of meals served on aircraft at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi, Kenya.

It was a descriptive cross-sectional study that analyzed 361 samples of meals along the food production chain, under the following four categories:

1. starter dishes that involve a lot of handling during preparation and are usually served without heating or reheating;
2. main courses served hot;
3. cold desserts; and
4. snacks and sandwiches.

The microorganisms in the foods were isolated, identified and enumerated. The sensitivity of the isolated microorganisms was also investigated. In addition to the microbial analysis, the study assessed the food safety and hygiene knowledge, attitudes and practices of the staff involved in preparing the aircraft meals.

A total of 340 bacterial species were isolated. Worryingly, these included a number of pathogenic and coliform bacteria. Coliforms like E. coli are indicator organisms. Their natural habitat is the lower intestinal tract of humans so their presence in food is an indication of faecal contamination and, thus, poor hygiene.

Not surprisingly, hot meals were less contaminated than cold meals (mostly starters), but the presence of E. coli in both hot and cold meals suggests poor hygiene during food handling and, possibly, that the hot meals are contaminated after heating.

Cooked beef products were the most contaminated category of hot meals (59.3%), followed by vegetables (28.8%), chicken (10.2%) and pork products (1.7%). Most of the isolated bacteria (81.8%) were resistant to Ampicillin, an antibiotic that is used to treat a variety of bacterial infections.

Based on the findings of microbial analysis, it was not surprising to read the results of the food safety knowledge, attitudes and practice of the food handlers. Although the majority (88.8%) of food handlers had completed secondary education or had a college diploma, 56.3% of them had not been trained on food hygiene.

“An important finding from this study was that the concept of HACCP [Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point] was not understood,” the authors observed.

HACCP is a quality assurance approach that focuses on evaluating the quality of the product along the various stages of the production chain and taking remedial action as needed to eliminate the hazard (e.g. pathogenic bacteria), as opposed waiting to analyse the product at the final stage of production, at which point it may be too late – and too costly – to take corrective action.

However, knowledge about food safety doesn’t automatically translate into good hygienic practice. The management of a food processing unit needs to enforce good hygiene practice not only by training and refresher courses for food handlers and providing the necessary facilities but by actively encouraging and rewarding good practice.

The study found that despite the presence of proper handwashing facilities (sinks with sensor taps, soap and hot and cold water), 87.8% of respondents said that they never washed their hands upon entering the production area, 8.1% rarely washed their hands and 4.1% sometimes washed their hands. Further, 76.1% of respondents said they never changed their gloves for the duration of their work shift, 19.8% changed their gloves rarely and just 4.1% said they always changed their gloves during their shift.

The study does not indicate the number of meals prepared per given period at the JKIA food unit so it is not possible to estimate what proportion the 361 sampled meals represent relative to the total number of meals prepared in a given period.

Convenient and purposive sampling was used in the study. This means that the 361 meals did not constitute a representative sample of all meals prepared in the unit. For this reason, it is not possible to generalize the findings of this study. Nonetheless, the results of the study show that there is need to improve the hygienic practices of the food handlers who were interviewed so as to avoid bacterial contamination and improve the safety of the meals they prepare.

Reference

Maina, T.S.N., Kamau, L., Kabiru, E.W., Ogata, B.R. and Shitandi A. 2013. Evaluation of Bacteriological Quality of Aircraft Food at The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya. Science Research 1(1): 1-8. doi: 10.11648/j.sr.20130101.11