Impacts of wet market modernization levels and hygiene practices on the microbiome and microbial safety of wooden cutting boards in hong kong

TY - JOUR

T1 - Impacts of wet market modernization levels and hygiene practices on the microbiome and microbial safety of wooden cutting boards in hong kong

AU - Ngan, Wing Yui

AU - Rao, Subramanya

AU - Chan, Long Chung

AU - Sekoai, Patrick T.

AU - Pu, Yang

AU - Yao, Yuan

AU - Fung, Aster Hei Yiu

AU - Habimana, Olivier

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

PY - 2020/12

Y1 - 2020/12

N2 - Accessing food through wet markets is a common global daily occurrence, where fresh meat can be purchased to support an urbanizing world population. Similar to the wet markets in many other metropolitan cities in Asia, Hong Kong wet markets vary and are characterized by differing hygiene routines and access to essential modern technologies. The lack of risk assessments of food contact surfaces in these markets has led to substantial gaps in food safety knowledge and information that could help improve and maintain public health. Microbial profiling analyses were conducted on cutting boards that had been used to process pork, poultry, and seafood at 11 different wet markets. The markets differed in hygiene protocols and access to modern facilities. Irrespective of whether wet markets have access of modern infrastructure, the hygiene practices were largely found to be inefficient based on the prevalence of bacterial species typically associated with foodborne pathogens such as Campylobacter fetus, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus; indicator organisms such as Escherichia coli; as well as nonfoodborne pathogenic bacterial species potentially associated with nosocomial infections, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae. Other Vibrio species, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus, typically associated with contaminated raw or undercooked seafood with the potential to cause illness in humans, were also found on wooden cutting boards. This study indicated that the hygienic practices used in Hong Kong wet markets are not sufficient for preventing the establishment of spoilage or pathogenic organisms. This study serves as a basis to review current hygiene practices in wet markets and provides a framework to reassess existing safety protocols.

AB - Accessing food through wet markets is a common global daily occurrence, where fresh meat can be purchased to support an urbanizing world population. Similar to the wet markets in many other metropolitan cities in Asia, Hong Kong wet markets vary and are characterized by differing hygiene routines and access to essential modern technologies. The lack of risk assessments of food contact surfaces in these markets has led to substantial gaps in food safety knowledge and information that could help improve and maintain public health. Microbial profiling analyses were conducted on cutting boards that had been used to process pork, poultry, and seafood at 11 different wet markets. The markets differed in hygiene protocols and access to modern facilities. Irrespective of whether wet markets have access of modern infrastructure, the hygiene practices were largely found to be inefficient based on the prevalence of bacterial species typically associated with foodborne pathogens such as Campylobacter fetus, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus; indicator organisms such as Escherichia coli; as well as nonfoodborne pathogenic bacterial species potentially associated with nosocomial infections, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae. Other Vibrio species, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus, typically associated with contaminated raw or undercooked seafood with the potential to cause illness in humans, were also found on wooden cutting boards. This study indicated that the hygienic practices used in Hong Kong wet markets are not sufficient for preventing the establishment of spoilage or pathogenic organisms. This study serves as a basis to review current hygiene practices in wet markets and provides a framework to reassess existing safety protocols.

KW - Foodborne pathogens

KW - Nosocomial bacteria

KW - Surface hygiene

KW - Wet market

KW - Wooden cutting boards

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097546500&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/microorganisms8121941

DO - 10.3390/microorganisms8121941

M3 - 文章

AN - SCOPUS:85097546500

SN - 2076-2607

VL - 8

SP - 1

EP - 14

JO - Microorganisms

JF - Microorganisms

IS - 12

M1 - 1941

ER -