Microbiological Assessment of Traditional Turkish Foods from a Temporary Outdoor Food

Abstract

Food sold on the street is also becoming a serious public health issue, as food manufacturers' ignorance of fundamental food safety and inadequate hygiene measures lead to the spread of foodborne illnesses. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological safety of different traditional Turkish foods sold in temporary outdoor food market established every year during Ramadan in Turkey. A total of twenty-two dishes were bought daily from six different vendors who were present in the market during Ramadan. The presence of total viable counts (TVC), total coliforms, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) was examined in the samples by Hygiene Control Kits with prepared media. All dishes except from the içli köfte from the second vendor were found contaminated with different levels. Both steamed burger and fellah köftesi were the most contaminated of all dishes. While liver from fourth vendor was highly contaminated with E. coli, meatballs in bread from first vendor, içli köfte from second vendor, liver from fifth vendor, tulum cheese and moldy çeçil from sixth vendor had uncountable coliform. The data reveals the need for education and training of street food vendors, as well as regular inspections to improve the food safety management system at the point of sale.