Microbiological profile and nutritional quality of raw foods for neutropenic patients under hospital care

• Main Authors: Paula Cristina Galati, Renata Cristina Lataro, Vanessa Maciel Souza, Elaine Cristina Pereira de Martinis, Paula Garcia Chiarello
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2013-01-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Hematologia e Hemoterapia
• Subjects: Neutropenia; Diet; Food microbiology; Nutritive value; Immunosuppression
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-84842013000200009
• ISSN: 1516-8484; 1806-0870

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze and compare the microbiological profile and vitamin C content of raw and cooked foods destined for neutropenic inpatients. METHODS: Three vegetables and nine fruits, raw and boiled, washed and sanitized were examined. Heat-tolerant coliforms and coagulase-positive staphylococci were counted and the presence of Salmonella spp was investigated. The vitamin C content was analyzed by a colorimetric reaction. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used for statistical analysis and the nonparametric Wilcoxon test was used to compare the mean vitamin C values of the cooked and raw foods. The Spearman correlation test was applied to determine the associations between the parameters evaluated RESULTS: Salmonella spp was absent in all samples and the populations of coagulase-positive staphylococci and heat-tolerant coliforms were below the minimum detectable limits of the methods employed (< 100 colony forming units (CFU)/g and < 3 most probable number (MPN)/g, respectively). There was a significant loss of vitamin C in the cooked foods, 38.9% on average, compared to the raw foods, a loss that was positively correlated with cooking time. CONCLUSION: The fresh fruits and vegetables properly sanitized in this study had a microbiological profile consistent with that required by Brazilian law. Furthermore, the nutritional value of the neutropenic diet is diminished, at least in terms of the vitamin C content.