Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer

Cross-contamination on food contact surfaces (FCS) increases the risk of foodborne diseases incidence. Traditional microbial detection methods are time-consuming, prompting the exploration of the rapid method; CytoQuant® mobile flow cytometer which employ perturbation of low-frequency electric field...

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Main Authors: Shafizi Abdul Wahab, Alia Aryssa Mohd Haris, Chai, Lay Ching, Nurul Aqilah Mohd Zaini, Mohamad Yusof Maskat, Chok, Hui Mei, Huda Saber Abu Bakar Saleh, Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed Nazir, Sahilah Abdul Mutalib
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2025
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25303/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25303/1/ST%2013.pdf
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author Shafizi Abdul Wahab,
Alia Aryssa Mohd Haris,
Chai, Lay Ching
Nurul Aqilah Mohd Zaini,
Mohamad Yusof Maskat,
Chok, Hui Mei
Huda Saber Abu Bakar Saleh,
Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed Nazir,
Sahilah Abdul Mutalib,
author_facet Shafizi Abdul Wahab,
Alia Aryssa Mohd Haris,
Chai, Lay Ching
Nurul Aqilah Mohd Zaini,
Mohamad Yusof Maskat,
Chok, Hui Mei
Huda Saber Abu Bakar Saleh,
Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed Nazir,
Sahilah Abdul Mutalib,
author_sort Shafizi Abdul Wahab,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Cross-contamination on food contact surfaces (FCS) increases the risk of foodborne diseases incidence. Traditional microbial detection methods are time-consuming, prompting the exploration of the rapid method; CytoQuant® mobile flow cytometer which employ perturbation of low-frequency electric fields between intact membrane and cytoplasm. The cross-sectional study used CytoQuant® and total plate count (TPC) involved 30 FCS from six (n = 6) selected restaurants with long operating hours in the Lembah Klang area. Findings showed that the CytoQuant® was able to detect the presence of microbial contamination within 30 seconds without pre-treatment. The results also showed that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between intact cell and particles readings on FCS. Furthermore, even though there are some differences in individual sample readings from the FCS, the mean values across various restaurants showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) between CytoQuant and TPC, suggesting that both methods provide comparable intact cell measurements on average. Further microbiological and premise rating analysis showed that all six premises exhibited aerobic, coliform counts and patogen exceeding established thresholds on the cutting board, including detection of salmonella in one of the premises, which correlated with the poor premises rating. This study suggest that employing CytoQuant® on-site ensures rapid and reliable results in monitoring of FCS, reducing the risk of foodborne diseases compared to TPC analysis.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:253032025-05-21T07:47:00Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25303/ Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer Shafizi Abdul Wahab, Alia Aryssa Mohd Haris, Chai, Lay Ching Nurul Aqilah Mohd Zaini, Mohamad Yusof Maskat, Chok, Hui Mei Huda Saber Abu Bakar Saleh, Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed Nazir, Sahilah Abdul Mutalib, Cross-contamination on food contact surfaces (FCS) increases the risk of foodborne diseases incidence. Traditional microbial detection methods are time-consuming, prompting the exploration of the rapid method; CytoQuant® mobile flow cytometer which employ perturbation of low-frequency electric fields between intact membrane and cytoplasm. The cross-sectional study used CytoQuant® and total plate count (TPC) involved 30 FCS from six (n = 6) selected restaurants with long operating hours in the Lembah Klang area. Findings showed that the CytoQuant® was able to detect the presence of microbial contamination within 30 seconds without pre-treatment. The results also showed that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between intact cell and particles readings on FCS. Furthermore, even though there are some differences in individual sample readings from the FCS, the mean values across various restaurants showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) between CytoQuant and TPC, suggesting that both methods provide comparable intact cell measurements on average. Further microbiological and premise rating analysis showed that all six premises exhibited aerobic, coliform counts and patogen exceeding established thresholds on the cutting board, including detection of salmonella in one of the premises, which correlated with the poor premises rating. This study suggest that employing CytoQuant® on-site ensures rapid and reliable results in monitoring of FCS, reducing the risk of foodborne diseases compared to TPC analysis. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2025 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25303/1/ST%2013.pdf Shafizi Abdul Wahab, and Alia Aryssa Mohd Haris, and Chai, Lay Ching and Nurul Aqilah Mohd Zaini, and Mohamad Yusof Maskat, and Chok, Hui Mei and Huda Saber Abu Bakar Saleh, and Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed Nazir, and Sahilah Abdul Mutalib, (2025) Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer. Sains Malaysiana, 54 (2). pp. 473-481. ISSN 0126-6039 https://www.ukm.my/jsm/english_journals/vol54num2_2025/contentsVol54num2_2025.html
spellingShingle Shafizi Abdul Wahab,
Alia Aryssa Mohd Haris,
Chai, Lay Ching
Nurul Aqilah Mohd Zaini,
Mohamad Yusof Maskat,
Chok, Hui Mei
Huda Saber Abu Bakar Saleh,
Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed Nazir,
Sahilah Abdul Mutalib,
Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer
title Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer
title_full Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer
title_fullStr Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer
title_full_unstemmed Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer
title_short Rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer
title_sort rapid detection of microbial contamination on food contact surfaces in restaurants with long operating hours using mobile flow cytometer
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25303/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25303/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25303/1/ST%2013.pdf