Bacterial And Fungal Contaminations In The Disposable Plastic And Plant Based Cutlery Running Title: Contamination In Pant And Plastic Cutlery

Abstract

Introduction: Bacterial contamination can occur in the cutlery. Poor hygiene of cutlery has an important role in the growth and spread
of bacteria.
Aim: This study is done to screen the disposable cutleries for their bacterial load and the potential risk for users.
Methods: Various types of cutleries are in use in different food outlets. Randomly the disposable plates and cups made with different
materials were collected from different food stalls. Those plates were transported to the microbiology lab in sealed pouches to
prevent further
contamination. The plates were taken and 5 ml of sterile saline was added and rinsed thoroughly.
Then the washed saline was collected in a disposable sterile plastic container. From the washed saline 50 microlitre is pipetted on to
the culture media to enumerate and identify the bacteria present. After the incubation period the plates were checked for the total
CFU and the type of bacteria. For the isolation of fungi sabouraud's dextrose agar was used and incubated at room temperature. The
growth of bacteria and fungi were observed and tabulated category wise.
Results: Then after the incubation period the plates were examined for the total colony forming unit and the type of the bacterial
species present. In many samples the count was innumerable and shows the coliform growth.
Conclusion: In this study ,it was observed that the cutleries made of plant and plastic has bacterial contamination which is not
acceptable in any food safety standards. The local cutlery materials, though they are packed in an attractive and salable way, are not
produced by the leaders in the market, mostly done like a cottage industry without any expertise.