Although a lot of work has been done on the safety of street foods in
most developing countries, not much has been done with regards to the
hotel industry. A pilot study to investigate food and its preparation
conditions in ten selected hotels in Accra, the capital of Ghana with
respect to food safety was therefore initiated in 2005/2006. A total of
184 samples; 105 swabs of kitchen working surfaces, cutlery and plates;
29, 30, and 20 samples of food, water and fruit juice respectively were
taken for microbial analysis from ten highly patronized hotels between
December 2005 and June 2006. Standard microbiological methods were used
for isolation, enumeration, and identification of bacteria. Thirty
Seven (37) of the swab samples showed the presence of coliforms while
Escherichia coli was absent in all the 105 samples. The total count
of aerobic bacteria was high in the swabs from the working surfaces and
cutting boards (> 103 cfu/ml). All the food samples tested negative
for Salmonella, Staphylococcus and E. coli. Coliforms and E. coli were
not detected in any of the 30 water samples tested, Ten of the fruit
juice samples tested positive for coliforms although E. coli was absent
in all the 20 samples. Most of the swabs that registered the presence
of coliforms were from chopping boards, pastry and working tables
suggesting that the method of cleaning these surfaces should be
improved. The microbial quality of all the food samples tested was
satisfactory with aerobic colony counts of less than 104 cfu/g and no
pathogens detected in 25g of food sample, which is the standard for
ready to eat foods. The water samples also met the satisfactory
criteria of no coliforms detected in 100mls of water. No pathogens were
detected in the fruit juice samples, but with the exception of ginger
juice, all were contaminated with coliforms which suggests that,
stringent measures be applied in the preparation and handling of these
juices. As a result of this study staff and management of these hotels
are now implementing Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) and Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Points (HACCP)