HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH HOLDING AND REHEATING FOODS AT VENDING SITES IN A SMALL-TOWN IN ZAMBIA

Hazard analyses were done at 11 cooked-food-vending sites and related food-vending operations in a small-town market along a highway in Zamb ia. The analyses consisted of observations and time-temperature measur ements at the vending sites and interpretations of results of laborato ry tests of samples of foods (including leftovers) collected after hol ding and reheating. Salmonellae were isolated from dried ants, a cooke d meatball on display, and pumped river water used by the vendors. Ant s for sale at the market contained 10(7) Bacillus cercus cells per g. Nshima (boiled maize meal) was held at high temperatures in pans over glowing charcoal in which steam was generated throughout the entire ho lding period during the day, preventing bacterial growth. Large popula tions of B. cereus, however, were isolated from a sample left overnigh t at ambient room temperature. Cooked foods other than nshima were hel d at room or outdoor ambient temperatures throughout the day and overn ight. High aerobic mesophilic colony, thermotolerant coliform and, in a few foods, Escherichia coli counts were found in foods after several hours of holding during the day of preparation and of foods held over night. Temperatures attained during reheating were variable and someti mes would have resulted in survival of foodborne pathogens that multip lied during holding.