BARBOSA, G. S.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0387283911014366; BARBOSA, Gislaynne da Silva.
Abstract:
Food and Nutrition Unit (UAN) is a unit of work where the main activity is the provision of
meals. This study aimed to evaluate the temperature, humidity and fungal contamination of
food storage and preparation areas in UAN. The study was carried out in three UANs with
different clienteles: a public hospital, a commercial restaurant and an institutional restaurant,
all with centralized distribution, for a period of one month, all under the supervision of a
nutritionist. The data collection was performed in the refrigeration chambers and in the food
handling areas of the establishments. In order to measure the temperature and humidity, the
Thermo-Hybrid-Decibelimeter-Luximeter device, Skill-Tec brand, model SKTHDL, was used
with measurements taken at 30-minute intervals, reading every 10 seconds for up to one
minute. result obtained from the reading average of each time interval. For the evaluation of
environmental fungicide contamination, the simple sedimentation technique was used, where
Petri dishes containing Potato Agar Dextrose (Himedia®) were opened and exposed at room
temperature for 15 minutes in the studied environments and then closed and transported in
isothermal box for the Laboratory of Food Microbiology of the Nutrition course of the
Campus of Cuité, Paraíba, where they were incubated at 25ºC for 72 hours and then the
triplicate counts of colonies in UFC / cm² / wk were performed. The temperatures recorded in
the refrigerated storage areas had a statistically significant difference between the
establishments when grouped two to two, although all were within the temperature range
recommended for refrigeration, whose variation was 5.23ºC to 8.1ºC. Regarding the food
handling areas, the temperature averages were 17.36ºC, 18.13ºC and 26.06ºC for the hospital,
commercial restaurant and institutional restaurant, respectively, showing a statistically
significant difference between establishments when grouped two to two. Regarding relative
humidity, the averages ranged from 44.5% RH to 53.66% RH, the commercial and
institutional restaurant being below recommended values in the literature for refrigerated
storage areas. In the areas of handling, the readings ranged from 69.63% RH to 86.8% RH,
showing values well above the 60% RH limit recommended for meal production environments. Microbiological analyzes for environmental fungi revealed levels of
contamination higher than that allowed by the literature for the hospital, which counted 41.77
CFU / cm² / wk, showing a greater risk of food contamination when compared to the two
restaurants, whose readings were below of the tolerable limit of 30 UFC / cm² / wk. It
reinforces the need for further studies for environmental fungi of interest in food and for
moisture in feed units, in view of the influence and risk of cross-contamination of food. It is
also emphasized the importance of preventive monitoring through good practices in all stages
of food handling, thus ensuring the production of a food safe to the consumer.
