الملخص الإنجليزي
Foodborne illness associated with shawarma consumption can be increased as a consequence of improper handling practices in shawarma serving outlets. The aim of this study was to investigate the handling practices in shawarma outlets in Sohar over the period 2004-2009. It was observed that there was an increase (m= 0.95 non-compliances per visit) in the number of overall non-compliances over the test period. Among 13 categories of grouped inspection non-compliances, cleaning, building constructions and equipment categories showed the highest average number of non-compliances per visit as follows: 1.7, 2.2 and 1.7, respectively. The non-compliances related to cleaning, food handling procedures, food storage, health card and waste disposal increased. In contrast, non-compliances in building constructions, equipment, pests/pest control and ventilation categories declined. Other categories like leftovers and personal hygiene showed no change in the number of non-compliances with time. Generally, potential risk factors associated with cleaning, food handling procedures, food storage, health card, leftovers, pests/pest control and uniform, were significantly higher in restaurants than in coffee shops. Non-compliances with waste disposal were significantly higher in restaurants than in coffee shops over the study period possibly because of the variety and larger volume of meals produced in the restaurants which could affect the busier workers. The number of non-compliances related to building constructions, equipment, organization, uniforms, and ventilation were similar in the two types of outlets. In contrast, there was no correlation between the total number of shawarma produced and the total number of non compliances.
A variety of potential sources of metal contamination were identified during visits to the shawarma outlets. Raw and cooked chicken meat shawarma samples were analyzed, after microwave digestion using a Perkin Elmer ICP-Optima 3300 DV. The mean concentrations of iron and chromium significantly increased (p<0.05) from 7.05 ug/g Fe and 0.04 ug/g Cr in raw meat to 9.77 ug/g Fe and 0.12 ugg Cr in cooked shawarma meat. The level of Ni observed was very small in both samples. Metal release from knives after sharpening was detected using a range of methods. Metal fragments, were observed ranging in size from <5 um to about 80 um in length and in clusters of 60-100 um dimension.
The findings of this study could help to focus training and awareness programs for shawarma outlets to improve the sanitary conditions of these outlets especially related to the non-compliances that were most common and/or increased in number. Chronic exposure to the metals released from the knife after sharpening may potentially cause health hazards for both workers and consumers.
