Assessment of prerequisite programs implementation at food packaging manufacturing companies and hygiene status of food packaging in a developing country: Cross-sectional study

Marilyn Abdessater; Fady Fayyad; Joseph Matta; Layal Karam

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19824

Assessment of prerequisite programs implementation at food packaging manufacturing companies and hygiene status of food packaging in a developing country: Cross-sectional study

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 4;9(9):e19824. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19824. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Marilyn Abdessater¹, Fady Fayyad², Joseph Matta^{2

3}, Layal Karam⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Notre Dame University Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon, P.O. Box: 72, Zouk Mikael, Lebanon.
² Industrial Research Institute, Lebanese University Campus, Hadeth, Baabda, Lebanon.
³ Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmacy, Saint-Joseph University of Beirut, Medical Sciences Campus, Damascus Road, P.O.B. 11-5076, Riad Solh, Beirut, 1107 2180, Lebanon.
⁴ Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.

Abstract

Food packaging has a critical role in all food types and along the food chain from product preservation to transportation, distribution, storage, retailing, and end-use. However, it can become a source of contamination and transfer of microorganisms to the packed food when its hygienic status is not well maintained. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Prerequisite programs (PRPs) implementation in 5 food packaging companies across Mount Lebanon through on-site inspections and to assess the compliance of contact surfaces, employee hands and packaging materials to microbiological specifications. Following on-site inspection, none of the companies achieved a full total score of 100% and scores ranged from 25 to 62%. Regarding the assessment of hygienic status of contact surfaces, non-conforming results (acceptable limit ≤0.6 log colony forming units (CFU)/cm²) were observed in 50% (5/10) of the surfaces for total viable count (TVC). For the employee hands, none of the hand swab samples (10/10) was conforming for TVC that was present in all samples above the acceptable limit. Highest and lowest reported values were 4.4 and 1.7 log CFU/hands respectively. For packaging samples collected during on-site inspections, TVC and yeasts and molds were detected in 20% (2/10) of the samples. However, the samples collected from the retail market, had higher contamination rates of 95% (19/20) and 65% (13/20) for TVC and yeasts and molds, respectively. As for Enterobacteriaceae, it was not detected in all tested contact surfaces, employees' hands, and packaging samples. PRPs assessment and related verification activities showed the need for companies to strengthen their hygienic programs and highlighted the importance of food safety management systems (FSMS) implementation not only in food companies but also in food packaging companies. Additionally, the effectiveness of PRPs implementation should be assessed on planned routine basis.

Keywords: Acceptance criteria; Contact surface; Hand swab; On-site inspection; Packaging contamination.