This study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) amongst food handlers in food utensils
hygiene and presence of bacterial contamination on food utensils. There were two approaches used in this study. In the
first approach, 134 of food handlers from 75 food premises were interviewed via questionnaires to assess their knowledge,
attitude and practice. In the second approach, the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and total coliform
of 225 utensils (knives (75), chopping boards (75) and dish plates (75)) was examined. The result showed that the food
handlers had sufficient level of knowledge (80.5%), attitude (87.4%) and practice (90.1%). Highest contamination was
found on the chopping boards for the presence of S. aureus (82.8%), E. coli (9.7%) and total coliform (73.9%). Logistic
regression analysis showed that knowledge contributes to the presence of E. coli on the dish plates; and total coliform
on the knives. Thus, ongoing training that focused on food utensils hygiene must be emphasized to improve knowledge,
attitude and practice amongst the food handlers.
Kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengesahkan kemampuan teknologi DNA mikroaturan cip gen OliproTM FoodPATH bagi mengesan bakteria patogen makanan. Sebanyak 9 jenis DNA bakteria patogen makanan telah digunakan iaitu Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. dan Campylobacter spp. Sebanyak 36 kombinasi templat DNA bakteria patogen makanan telah digunakan. Pengesahan bagi mengesan bakteria patogen makanan dilakukan dengan menggunakan kaedah reaksi berantai polimerase (PCR) dan penghibridan Southern-blotting di atas cip gen untuk mengesahkan kemampuannya. Keputusan daripada analisis hibridasi di atas cip gen telah dibandingkan dengan hasil gel elektroforesis 2.0% (w/v). Lima saringan diperlukan untuk menghabiskan 36 kombinasi templat DNA bakteria patogen makanan. Setiap saringan, satu cip gen telah digunakan sebagai kawalan negatif tidak diinokulasikan dengan sebarang kombinasi DNA bakteria patogen makanan. Daripada hasil kajian, didapati bahawa semua kombinasi templat DNA bakteria patogen makanan telah dapat dikesan. Cip yang digunakan sebagai kawalan negatif tidak menunjukkan kehadiran DNA. Oleh itu, daripada kajian ini cip gen OliproTM FoodPATH didapati memberikan keputusan yang lebih baik berbanding dengan 2.0% (w/v) gel elektroforesis.
Genomic DNA of 13 fish (n=13) species consist of four freshwater which were catfish (Clarias gariepinus), shark catfish (Pangasius larnaudii), tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), perch (Lates calcarifer) and nine marine species which were black pomfret (Parastromateus niger), anchovy (Stolephorus commersonii), mabong (Rastrelliger kanagurta), red snapper (Lutjanus erythropterus), herring (Chirocentrus dorab), ray fish (Himantura gerrardii), sardine (Decapterus macrosoma), mackerel (Euthynnus affinis) and tuna (Thunnus tuna) were differentiated using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Seven endonucleases of AluI, BsaJI, HaeIII, HindIII, HinfI, MboI and MboII were examined for the ability to digest cyt b amplicon from each species. Genomic DNA of pork (Sus scrofa domestica) were differentiated from fishes by comparing the digestion patterns produced by similar amplified region and enzymes used. In the present study, it was demonstrated that fishes and pork DNA genome were successfully differentiated using all endonucleases except for HindIII. Thus, PCR-RFLP analysis was found useful for future pork DNA detection in fish products.