Background & Objective(s): Foodborne illness is a serious health-related problem especially in hospitalized patients.
The present study aimed to evaluate the bacterial contamination of meals served in a university hospital in Alexandria, Egypt.
Methods: This cross-sectional study covered 280 samples of processed and non-processed food that were randomly taken from various wards, from a university hospital in Alexandria. All samples were exposed to aerobic plate count using pour plate method. Multiple tube dilution approach was used to detect and enumerate total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and Escherichia coli (E. coli).
Results: The total plate count (TPC) of the 280 samples ranged from 2.2x10² to 4.4x10¹¹ CFU/g. Tomatoes had the highest mean value 9.98x10⁹ CFU/g, while bread exhibited the lowest mean value 2.5 x10² CFU/g. The fecal coliform (FC) count for processed and non-processed food showed unsatisfactory results in 24.3% and 42.0 % (reviewer 2 comment A6) respectively. E. coli were detected in 7.1 % of processed and 30.6% of non-processed samples.
Conclusion: The considerable unsatisfactory level of E. coli in some of the tested samples is augmenting the need to improve food preparation, handling, storage, and distribution in the hospital.