Food safety in the home kitchen has become a growing public health issue due to inaccurate food preparation processes in consumers’ homes, as well as poor personal and/or environmental hygiene. This study evaluated the prevailing environment, cleanliness, and hygiene habits of selected household kitchens using on‐site visits and swabbing for microbial examinations. Most food contact surfaces, touch points, and kitchen supplies showed high contamination with total aerobic bacterial count (TABC), coliforms, and Escherichia coli . Among the food contact surfaces, the highest contamination was recorded in kitchen sink walls (91.4%) with E. coli . Approximately 67.0% of food preparation surfaces were contaminated with E. coli . Among the frequently touched surfaces, kitchen tap knobs (87.5%) were highly contaminated with E. coli . Furthermore, among the frequently used supplies, 91% of sponges/dishcloths were found to be contaminated with E. coli . About 81.0% of detergent bars were found to be contaminated with E. coli . The majority of homes (93.3%–100.0%) lack access to hot water, soap, and sanitizers in the kitchen, and the presence of pets (cats; 6.7% of households) or pests (100% of homes) in the kitchen was evident, indicating the likelihood of microbial contamination and transmission from the outside environment. To reduce the risk of microbial contamination, people must improve their food handling practices through education.
Zaman et al. (Thu,) studied this question.