Dish Washing Techniques on Colony Count of Cutleries in Food (Coto) Stall in Ternate

Abstract

There were two food poisoning incidences in 2023 in Ternate City. The presence of germs, can cause illness and even poisoning. Microbial load on cutleries could be caused by improper dish washing. This study looked into the food maker's dishwashing practice and the microbiological load in the cutlery in the food stall that offers Coto, a specialty dish from South Sulawesi, Indonesia. This was a descriptive study, a total of nine cutleries including spoons, glasses and bowls were collected from 3 food stalls. Microbial load was measured by using Total Plate Count (TPC) method and washing utensils practice were collected by doing observation on food stall. The study resulted that the average of colony in bowls of the food stall 1 was 4362, food stall 2 was 4014 and food stall 3 was 1683. In food stall 1, the average colony of the glasses was 4014; in food stall 2, it was 4666; and in food stall 3, it was 1683. The mean colony of the spoons was 2615 at food stall 1, 4056 in food stall 2, and 1853 in food stall 3. The food stall staff was not present to demonstrate the correct technique for cleaning utensils. It can be concluded that the microbial count in all samples above the threshold level, which is 100 colonies/cm2, and that inadequately cleaned utensils are the cause of microbial existence.