Journal
FOOD CONTROL
Volume 130, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.108362
Keywords
Staphylococcus aureus; Nasal carriage; Food handlers; Food safety; Cross-contamination
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Staphylococcus aureus, a common bacterium that colonizes human skin, nasal passages, and GI tract, can cause food poisoning through contamination by asymptomatic food handlers. While most recover without medical intervention, severe cases can be life-threatening. This poses a serious challenge for the food industry and healthcare systems.
Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal bacterium known to colonize the skin, nares, and gastrointestinal tract of humans. Asymptomatic workers can contaminate food via manual contact or through respiratory secretions thus becoming the source of staphylococcal food poisoning. This gastrointestinal intoxication occurs after the ingestion of food contaminated by enterotoxin-producing Staphylococcus aureus. Although most individuals overcome the infection without medical assistance and make a full recovery, in rare cases the infection can be life-threatening. Hence, Staphylococcus aureus food contamination represents a serious problem for both the food industry and healthcare systems. In the last few decades, many studies have investigated the prevalence of carriers among food handlers. We present an overview of all investigations carried out on nasal carriers working in different food industry settings highlighting the risk associated with cross-contamination.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available