The Identification of Fungal Contaminants in Food Delivery Bag for Food Transportation in Shah Alam

Abstract

The pandemic has altered consumer behavior from eating out to ordering food online through food delivery platforms and services. However, the process of delivering foods involved poor hygiene and improper food handling practices, resulting in food contamination due to potential fungal growth affected by several factors such as high humidity and temperature. The increasing demand for take-out food comes together with the risks of food contamination due to the insufficiency of handling instructions on take-out food packaging. The spoilage of mold in food contributes to annual global revenue losses while significantly imposing food safety problems such as food borne fungal diseases. The objective of this study was to identify fungal contaminants in food delivery bags, through the isolation of fungal swab samples on potato dextrose agar (PDA).