Chicken 65, ginger chicken, chicken fried rice, chilly chicken, chicken noodles and chicken Manchuria sold on the streets of Hyderabad and Secunderabad are highly contaminated by disease-causing bacteria

Syed Akbar
Hyderabad:  Poultry-based foods like chicken 65, ginger
chicken, chicken fried rice, chilly chicken, chicken noodles and
chicken Manchuria sold on the streets of Hyderabad and Secunderabad
are highly contaminated by disease-causing bacteria.

According to a research study by the city-based Food and Drug
Toxicology Research Centre attached to the National Institute of
Nutrition, pathogenic bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus
cereus are present in poultry-based street foods in twin cities.

The researchers found bacterial contamination is high in salads and in
drinking water. Salmonella contamination was more in salads than in
street foods. Chicken fried rice is the most contaminated food among
poultry-based street foods in Hyderabad. “Although food is cooked at a
temperature high enough to inactivate bacterial pathogens,
post-contamination and cross-contamination that is being promoted by
unhygienic food handling and incorrect storage practices are making
the safely prepared food to be unsafe,” the study observed.

The NIN’s findings were published in latest issue of The Scientific
World Journal, a peer-reviewed scientific publication. A total of 376
samples including chicken fried rice, chicken noodles, boiled noodles
and boiled rice were collected from circles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and analyzed for
microbiological examination. About 110 samples of hand washings,
drinking water and salads (onion and lemon) were also tested.

The most prevalent pathogenic bacteria isolated were S. aureus and B.
cereus. Salmonella spp. was present in salads and hand washings of the
food handler. Salmonella contamination was found in salads served
along with chicken fried rice and chicken noodles than in the food.

Sample analysis indicated the presence of one or more of the
food-borne pathogens in each food sample. Sixty per cent of samples
were contaminated with either B. cereus or S. aureus. S. aureus was
isolated in 31 per cent of the food samples and B. cereus was detected
in 58 per cent of the food samples.

Salmonella spp. was not detected in both of these food samples. The
salads served along with chicken fried rice and chicken noodles were
contaminated with S. aureus (61 per cent), B. cereus (48 per cent),
and Salmonella spp. (43.5 per cent).

“Level of sanitation was poor, most (70 per cent) of the street food
outlets were located adjacent to the road, and few (15 per cent)
outlets were located near the municipal garbage bins. Vegetables were
not peeled and cleaned in 40 per cent of the outlets. Eighty per cent
of the vendors were using dirty cloth for cleaning purpose,” the study
revealed.