Evaluation of the quality of hospital food from the kitchen to the patient

Food-borne pathogens can multiply if food is not maintained at an appropriate temperature and if there are delays between food preparation and distribution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of meals during transport from the kitchens to the patients in three departments of a university hospital. Meals were transported inside insulated, cooled food carts. We analysed the delays at each step of the transport process, and measured the temperature inside the food cart and inside the meals. The total duration of the transport (mean=85.3 min; range 44-123 min) conformed to the official recommendations (<2 h at a temperature <10 °C before consumption). The internal temperature of 73.6% of the 30 food carts followed was below 10 °C. The internal temperature of the meals was below 10 °C in 91.7% of cases when the food cart was first opened, but in only 12% of cases by the time the last patient was served. No pathogens were isolated from any of the samples. However, 10% of meals, all of which were salads, had total viable counts of bacteria above the recommended limits. This study confirms that it is essential to control time and temperature to ensure food quality and safety in hospitals.