Microbiological evaluation of sugarcane juice sold at street stands and juice handling conditions in São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil

• Main Authors: Oliveira Aline Cristine Garcia (Author), Seixas Antonio Sergio Spano (Author), Sousa Cristina Paiva (Author), Souza Clovis Wesley Oliveira (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 0102-311X; 1678-4464
• Keywords: Food Handling; Food Contamination; Enterobacteriaceae; Sugarcane; Medicine; R; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Cadernos de Saúde Pública, Vol 22, Iss 5, Pp 1111-1114 (2006)

Fresh sugarcane juice is sold by street vendors without any heat treatment in São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil. Twenty-four samples of point-of-sale juice were tested by standard methods to determine heterotrophic bacteria, total and thermo-tolerant coliform counts, Salmonella, and parasites in the juice. 25% of samples showed poor sanitary conditions, with thermo-tolerant coliform levels higher than allowed by Brazilian standards. Salmonella spp. and parasites were absent in all samples. Thermo-tolerant coliforms were detected on the hands of 37% of juice handlers, and heterotrophic bacterial counts reached 2.0 x 10³ cfu/per hand. Escherichia coli was detected in one hand sample, and no Salmonella spp. was detected. Screening questionnaires were used to interview the vendors, and 62% of interviewees were either unfamiliar with or failed to adopt adequate hygiene for food handling.