Perfil de higiênico-sanitário de restaurantes tipo self-service em município do Sertão Paraibano.

Abstract

The change in eating habits, the fast pace of the population's life, the need for food away from home has been increasing the demand for self-service restaurants, so the collective food services must adopt procedures that ensure the quality and compliance of food within the health legislation. From this perspective, the objective was to determine the hygienicsanitary profile of self-service restaurants in the city of Patos-PB, by performing microbiological and parasitological analyzes in lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and drinking water and assess the level of knowledge of the ones who handle the food. Analyzes were performed following APHA (2001) and Silva et al. (2007). For parasitological examinations, the techniques described by Hoffmann et al. (1934). Microbiological analyzes of water followed the Colilert® qualitative method. The level of knowledge of the handlers was evaluated by applying a structured questionnaire. It was found that 100% of the samples presented contamination by total coliforms, and 60% presented levels of contamination by thermotolerant coliforms above the tolerated by the Brazilian legislation. The presence of E. coli was not detected. In 12% of the samples Salmonella spp were present. In parasitological analysis 4.0% presented protozoan oocysts. In microbiological water analyzes 56% of the restaurants presented unfit water for consumption. Regarding the level of knowledge of the handlers in relation to Good Handling Practices, an average of 89.16% (± 17.89) correct answers were obtained, demonstrating a satisfactory/appropriate knowledge of food safety. The study revealed deficiencies in the hygiene and sanitary conditions of the participating research establishments, mainly due to inadequate practices in food handling and need to implement measures that conform to the current sanitary norms.