India’s rapid expansion and urbanization have caused a sudden rise in hotels and eateries across the nation that claim to be clean and hygienic. Restaurant glasses are sometimes criticized for being just minimally washed before being reused as opposed to being replaced with ones that have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. The rim of a glass or cup is the area most exposed to the lips, thus exposing one to microbial burden. This study tested and quantified the number of microorganisms on restaurant glass rims.
Thirty distinct establishments were sampled for glass rims, including QSRs (I), Casual dining (II), Family (III), Fine-dining Standalones (IV), and Fine-dining star restaurants (V). The overall bacterial plate count average from glass rims was calculated per unit area, and the inner bottom of the glass was then examined. Benchmark guidance values for microbiological monitoring on surfaces have associated aerobic colony count levels above 80 CFU/ cm2 (Colony forming units per unit area) with poor hygiene practices and being dangerous to public health. Based on that, out of the 90 randomly selected glasses, about 89% of the rims were in the unsanitary category, while about 11% of the rims were categorized as clean
Cumulatively, about 77% of the hotels would be categorized as unclean, and about 20% were considered cautionary concerning glass rims.
In comparison, only 47% of the 30 selected glass bottoms were in the unsanitary category.
Categorically, the statistics unfold as follows:
Figure 1: Average Aerobic Plate Count for randomly swabbed glass rims from various categories of restaurants in Pune†
Due to the inability to categorize the sampled bacteria as pathogenic, and the intrinsic unpredictability of the techniques employed for sample collection, the results of this experiment must be handled with caution. The fact that many analytical characteristics induce variation in the standard procedures makes it difficult to compare the various microbiological standards. Nonetheless, a thorough literature review revealed recorded outbreaks or illnesses linked to contaminated restaurant glassware. To avoid foodborne infections, keeping an eye on these establishments’ cleaning and sanitation procedures is essential.
To Read the complete report Click Here