Assessment of Risk Determinants of Sustainable Food Safety Status in Food Court

Abstract

The status of food safety at a food court in Bangalore city was studied through risk determinants which defined the relationship between prerequisites (PRP), operational prerequisites (OPRP) and critical control point (CCP). Six Food Business Operators (FBO) were identified and data collected through visual observation and verification of the flow of operations. The tools used were questionnaires which were developed based on FSSAI guidelines. These questionnaires assessed kitchen location and design, status of equipment and facilities, critical control points, sanitation and personal hygiene using an ordinal scale of four for rating. The results indicated that the PRP and OPRP of the FBOs had 50% compliance in location and <50% compliance in design, layout, equipment, facilities, control of operations, sanitation and personnel hygiene. Lack of facilities in all 6 FBOs like drain, hand wash and space constraint with a score of 43% affected the CCPs of kitchen and personnel hygiene. The facilities like potable water, drainage, sewage disposal, ventilation and lighting had 51% compliance. Personnel hygiene, cross contamination of food, the operational area and food handling methods had least score of 38.75%. The storage had a low score (47.5%) due to space constraint leading to overload of food in operations, freezers and refrigerator without proper segregation. The low scores of 40% compliance in traceability of incoming raw material increased the risk. Pest control and waste management was very poor. Health status of the personnel was not assessed and they were not trained in food safety. A sustainable system of food safety requires PRP, OPRP and CCP design in accordance with the business. The FBOs were unaware of the importance of food safety and the potential risk of serving unsafe food to customers emphasizing the need for training.