Assessment of water quality in restaurants of different social classes in the city of San José de Cúcuta to contribute to food safety.

Abstract

Considering the usefulness of drinking water within restaurants, quality is relevant, given its use in hand washing, food preparation, cleaning and disinfection of equipment, surfaces, fruits and vegetables. According to this, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the water quality of restaurants in the city of San José de Cúcuta, to contribute to food safety. The population consisted of 40 restaurants belonging to different strata of the city of Cúcuta. A visual diagnosis of the water storage tanks was carried out and 3 samples were taken in each restaurant at two different points: storage tank and tap, for a total of 141 samples analyzed. For the processing of the samples, the membrane filtration method was used, with the use of culture media: Plate count agar for counting mesophilic aerobes and Chromocult agar for total and fecal coliforms, with the use of 0.45 mm membranes, and incubation at 37 ° C. It was found that 60% comply with current regulations, resolution 2115 of 2007, 40% of them do not comply with said regulations; non-compliance was due to microbiological parameters in 40% of the samples, finding non-compliance in mesophilic aerobes, and total coliforms, 100% of the samples did not present fecal coliforms. Improvement plans were established, since a lack of cleaning and disinfection in storage tanks was evident.