Bahram Kamarehie, Majid Irvani Mofard, Nahid Khoshnamvand, Mohammadreza Samaei, Faramarz Azimi, Ali Tolabi,
Volume 18, Issue 2 (9-2025)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Although hygiene standards are often not fully observed in the preparation of many foods, the demand for ready-made meals has increased due to urbanization and time constraints. This study aimed to investigate and compare the microbial load on surfaces, equipment, and restaurant workers' hands before and after disinfection with savory extract, and to compare its effectiveness with ethanol in restaurants across Shiraz.
Materials and Methods: Ten restaurants in Shiraz were selected through simple random sampling for this study. A total of 180 culture media were prepared to identify Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli contamination. Microbial load was quantified using luminometry. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency and dispersion.
Results: Following intervention with savory extract, microbial analysis revealed maximum Staphylococcus aureus contamination (33 CFU) on workers' hands in Restaurant C, while Restaurant J showed the lowest contamination level (16 CFU). Notably, alcohol-based intervention completely eliminated both S. aureus and E. coli contamination (0 CFU) across all sampled restaurants.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate significant deficiencies in both food contact surface sanitation and worker hand hygiene across the studied restaurants, posing substantial public health risks. These results underscore the critical need for: (1) enhanced food safety training programs for food handlers, (2) strict personal hygiene protocols, and (3) rigorous regulatory inspections to mitigate potential health hazards.
