Knowledge and practice of food handlers on food safety and health: A cross sectional study in one of Tehran’s districts

Background: The people involved in food preparation play a major role in contaminating it due to improper food handling. The goal of this study was to examine the knowledge and practice of food handlers in district two of Tehran.   Methods: A cross sectional descriptive- analytical study was designed and data were collected via questionnaires. The reliability of the questionnaires were measured using Cronbach's alpha and Intra-class correlation obtained from test and re-test in an interval of 10 days. The reliability indices of the questionnaires were found to be above 70%, which were acceptable. The participants were selected by a simple random method (n=390). Correlation coefficient was used for analysis.   Results: The highest number of male participants, with diploma education belonged to the age group of 20 to 29 years old with a job experience of two to five years and more than 50% of them had passed the public health course. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between knowledge and practice (P<0.001). In knowledge section 215 (55.3%) of respondents were at middle level. About the practice, although 195 (50%) of participants were placed at a good level, in some cases, such as how to find out the optimal temperature for cooking burgers and chicken, the right way to defrost food and the time needed to reheat the food were found lacking.    Conclusion: Knowledge and practice in food handlers must be improved specially about the importance and role of temperature in food safety

Assessment of Female Student’s Satisfaction with the Quality of Food And Environmental Health at Food Services in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 2013

ensure students are satisfied with the quantity and quality of food as well as hygienic condition in the university’s food services. For this reason, the present study was conducted to investigate female student’s satisfaction with the quality of food and environmental health at food services in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. A number of one hundred of female students, studying at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were randomly selected. All the selected students were proved to be customers of food services located in one the Medicine, Public Health, Pharmacy, paramedical Sciences, Dentistry, Rehabilitation and Nursing schools. A questioner was prepared as a tool for data collection and its validity and reliability was determined. Afterwards, data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 23). Results showed that 22% of female students expressed their satisfaction with the quantity of food as “excellent” and 47% as “moderate”. 28% of students rated the food diversity as “moderate” ok”. Seven percent of students reported at least on a case of food poisoning caused by the consumption of food at the university. On average, the overwhelming majority of students expressed their satisfaction as “good” or “medium” with environmental health in at food services in the university, respectively. All the students were aware of the importance of the presence of insects and animals outside the food services and 95%of students reported the presence of insects like beetle, housefly and mosquito and animals like cats, outside the food services. It was concluded that the majority of female students were satisfied with the quantity of food and ranked the quality of food as “medium”. However, they reported some problems regarding hygienic condition inside and outside the dining services and personal health of staff and stated that more attention should be paid by responsible authorities of the university. The student views can be used by these authorities to improve the quality and quantity of food and hygienic condition at food services in Universities

The perception and attitude of using herbal antianxiety and antidepressant drugs in medical students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences during 2021

Background: According to the more side effects of chemical drugs, it’s worthy to let’s spend our energy knowing more about medicinal herbs until perception and attitude checking towards the use of herbal antianxiety and antidepressant drugs in medical students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional descriptive study. People in the study were 40 medical students at Ilam University of Medical Sciences. The study population was randomly selected from boy and girl medical students. Questionnaires were adjusted based on the partial goals and research questions of design. The questions were designed in three categories of operation, belief, and knowledge about the use of antianxiety and antidepressant herbs.Results: The results of this study showed that 70% of medical students do not recommend herbs for the treatment of anxiety and depression. And 60% of them prefer to use antianxiety and antidepressant herbs to treat their anxiety and depression. Also, 70% of medical students believe that herbs for anxiety and depression should be prescribed under medical care and 80% of them believe that herbal medicines are effective for anxiety and depression. 65% of medical students have aware that herbs for anxiety and depression are harmless, and 85% of them are aware that medical herbs are effective in treating anxiety and depression. Hypericum perforatum L., Crocus sativus L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Matricaria chamomilla L., Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck, Valeriana officinalis L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Thymbera spicata L., Echium amoenum Fisch. & C.A.Mey., Elissa officinalis L., Viola odorata L., Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad and Aloysia aloysioides Loes. & Moldenke are used in both cases of depression and agitation too. Rosemary, Sanibal al-Tayyib, and savory plants are used in anxiety, and lemon, fennel, thyme, and violet performance are used in depression.Conclusion: In general performance, belief, and attitude of medical students besides the use of anti-anxiety and antidepressant herbs were relatively good, but it’s suggested that the relevant authorities pay more attention to this article including the group media and universities

Contamination of chicken eggs supplied in Tehran by heavy metals and calculation of their daily intake

Background and Aims: Chicken eggs, owing to richness in protein and essential minerals, are used in many communities and for all age groups. Metals are considered as one of the most important environmental pollutants which may lead to egg contamination. The consumption of contaminated eggs can harm human health. The aim of this study was to evaluate heavy metal (arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, copper, zinc and iron) contents in chicken eggs supplied in Tehran. Daily intake rates of heavy metals were also calculated.Materials and Methods: A total of 29 chicken eggs were sampled from various food stores in Tehran. Sample preparation was performed using wet acid digestion. Heavy metals concentrations were determined using ICP-OES. Data analysis was carried out by means of the statistical software SPSS as well as Excel (V.2.26). Kruskal Wallis and ANOVA tests were executed to compare heavy metal concentrations between different brands. Results: Mean concentrations of cadmium, lead, arsenic, nickel, copper, iron and zinc in collected chicken eggs were 0.01, 0.074, 0.03, 0.014, 1.46, 34.37 and 12.55 mg/kg, respectively. Iron and cadmium respectively showed the highest and lowest daily intake through chicken egg consumption. Conclusion: It was concluded that the levels of heavy metals in sampled chicken eggs were less than permissible limits and thus are considered safe. However, due to the importance of food contamination in public health, the continuous monitoring of these contaminants in food is recommended.Key words: Chicken Eggs, Heavy Metals, Food Safety, Tehra

The antioxidant and Flavonoids contents of Althaea officinalis L. flowers based on their color

Objective: There has been a growing interest in finding plants with biological active ingredients for medicinal application. Materials and Methods: Three colors of petals of Althaea officinalis (A. officinalis) flowers, i.e., pink, reddish pink, and white were examined for total antioxidant activity and flavonoids content. Results: The reddish pink flowers of A. officinalis have more antioxidant activity and the power of antioxidant activity was reddish pink > pink > white. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the dark color can serve as an indicator of antioxidant content of the plant. Flavonoid content was highest in white flower thus this result indicated that flowers with light color can be considered for medicinal uses

Determination of Heavy Metals through Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) in Iranian Cheese and Their Potential Health Risks to the Adult Consumers

In Iran, cheese is one of the dairy products that widely consumed as a main diet for breakfast. Moreover, trace metals in dairy products have recently gained considerable attention. Iranian cheese samples were collected from Tehran, Iran (February to May 2013). Trace metals including Pb, Cd, Ni, Fe, Sn, Zn, Cr, and Cu were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) after dry ashing. All the tested metals were detected in the cheese samples. The mean concentration of metals in cheese showed the following decreasing order Zn > Fe > Cu > Ni > Sn > Cr > Pb > Cd, with values of 12.98, 7.95, 1.96, 0.83, 0.46, 0.37, 0.34, and 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. There were no significant differences between types of cheese samples in terms of content of trace metals (p>0.05). All the samples had Pb contents of greater than Codex limit (0.02 mg/kg). According to the measured values of the metals in this study, the intake of all the studied elements through the common consumption of cheese in Iran was below the dangerous level according to permissible intake value for each metal. Also, levels of correlations between the element pairs were analyzed

Microbial Evaluation of Cooked Foods Served in the Central Restaurant of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Winter and Summer 2015

Food-borne pathogens are the most important thing cause of illness and death in developing countries. Food safety is essential for central university kitchens because of the high number of meals served every day. These central university kitchen systems are of special interest as students are at relatively high-risk of developing serious complications from exposure to food bacterial contamination hazards. A total of 144 samples of cooked foods, collected in winter and summer 2015 from the restaurants of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were studied to determine the microbiological quality of these products. Results were analyzed through SPSS 22.0 and t-test. According to coliform count, the highest rate of contamination was in Kebab (1.17×102 CFU/g) and lowest was in fish (0.8×102 CFU/g) and also the highest rate of contamination of Escherichia coli (E.coli) was in Kebab (6 samples), and the lowest contamination level was in fish and in this regard no sample was reported to be positive. According to staphylococcus aureus, the highest contamination rate was in rice (0.97×102 CFU/g) and lowest was in fish (0.63×102 CFU/g). Kebab had the highest contamination of ‎coliforms and staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in summer. None of the tested samples was confirmed with respect to salmonella, clostridium perfringens and staphylococcus aureus. Among the foods served in the university restaurants, Kebab had the highest bacterial contamination and fishes the lowest. Improved methods of cooking and food processing, prevention of secondary bacterial contamination, continuous monitoring and surveillance of food processing are the most important measures to prevent food contamination

Toksik ve kanserojen bir madde olarak baldaki ağır metallerin insan sağlığına olası etkileri: Sistematik bir inceleme

Heavy metals are widely known through natural resources, natural resources such as soil, dust in the atmosphere, snow and rain. Soil contaminants, especially heavy metals, can be absorbed by plants and enter the food cycle. Heavy metal contamination causes environmental concerns, such as entering the food chain and contaminating food, which can be harmful to human health. Consumption of food contaminated with heavy metals can cause several disorders including genetic toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disorders, immune problems and impaired psychosocial function. Bees also absorb heavy metals through the consumption of contaminated water, pollen, and nectar, inhalation of particles during flight, and adhesion of particles to their hairy body as they move on plant and soil surfaces while searching for food. For this review study, keywords such as heavy metals and honey were used. The databases searched in those articles were Google Scholar, SID, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, and ISI. The searched articles were reviewed. Given that honey is a valuable and widely consumed food in the diet of most people in different nations, so the study of the quality of honey in the consumer market in order to maintain the health of consumers seems necessary.Toprak kirleticileri, özellikle ağır metaller, bitkiler tarafından emilebilir ve besin döngüsüne girebilir. Arılar ayrıca yiyecek ararken bitki ve toprak yüzeylerinde hareket ederken kirli su, polen ve nektar tüketimi, uçuş sırasında partiküllerin solunması ve partiküllerin tüylü vücutlarına yapışması yoluyla ağır metalleri emer. Bu derleme çalışması için ağır metaller ve bal gibi anahtar kelimeler kullanılmıştır. Bu makalelerde aranan veri tabanları Google scholar, SID, Scopus, PubMed, Science direct ve ISI idi. Aranan makaleler incelendi. Balın, farklı uluslardaki çoğu insanın diyetinde değerli ve yaygın olarak tüketilen bir gıda olduğu göz önüne alındığında, tüketicilerin sağlığını korumak için tüketici pazarında bal kalitesinin araştırılması gerekli görünmektedir. Bu konuda kamuoyunu bilgilendirmemiz gerekiyor, bu yüzden bu derleme balda ağır metallerin varlığını açıklıyor

Microbial Evaluation of Fresh, Minimally-processed Vegetables and Bagged Sprouts from Chain Supermarkets

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bacterial and fungal quality of minimally-processed vegetables (MPV) and sprouts. A total of 116 samples of fresh-cut vegetables, ready-to-eat salads, and mung bean and wheat sprouts were randomly collected and analyzed. The load of aerobic mesophilic bacteria was minimum and maximum in the fresh-cut vegetables and fresh mung bean sprouts respectively, corresponding to populations of 5.3 and 8.5 log CFU/g. E. coli O157:H7 was found to be absent in all samples; however, other E. coli strains were detected in 21 samples (18.1%), and Salmonella spp. were found in one mung bean (3.1%) and one ready-to-eat salad sample (5%). Yeasts were the predominant organisms and were found in 100% of the samples. Geotrichum, Fusarium, and Penicillium spp. were the most prevalent molds in mung sprouts while Cladosporium and Penicillium spp. were most frequently found in ready-to-eat salad samples. According to results from the present study, effective control measures should be implemented to minimize the microbiological contamination of fresh produce sold in Tehran, Iran