Avaliação parasitológica de saladas servidas em self- services do centro de Teresina(PI)

Abstract

The consumption of out-of-home meals has been increasing over the years, people are looking for speedy service and diversified food options, in addition to affordable prices. With this, self- service restaurants have gained popularity, bringing the concept of serve yourself and pay only for the amount consumed. With the great usability of self-services, issues such as good practices in food production become important, especially in salads, dishes with growing population preference for health-related issues. Salads consist of leafy and fresh vegetables, foods that are prone to parasitic contamination that can be harmful in many cases to the consumer. Considering the lack of research in this area in Teresina, the work aimed at the parasitological analysis of salads served in self-service restaurants in downtown Teresina-PI. The spontaneous sedimentation method of Hoffman was used in this study, which consists in the sedimentation of parasitic structures for subsequent microscopy, the research took place in the Food Analysis Laboratory of the IFPI Campus Teresina Zona Sul. 19 samples were analyzed, which were selected from random establishments in the city center, but with a large influx of consumers. After using the research method and performing microscopy, a larva of Ancilostomideo sp and samples (10, 19) containing eggs of Hymenolepis nana were identified in sample 3, a result that was contrary to similar studies carried out in other cities by demonstrating a low level contamination, with only 15.7% of the total samples. The result showed that most establishments follow hygienic measures in food preparation, thus reducing the risk of parasitic contamination and ensuring more safety for consumers, but still requiring further investigation and attention, especially from self-service restaurants, as well as society as one all.