Estudio de la calidad de los aceites vegetales usados en los negocios de comida rápida en las parroquias Velasco y Maldonado de la ciudad de Riobamba y su incidencia en la salud

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate the quality of vegetable oils used in fast food restaurants in Velasco and Maldonado parishes, Riobamba city, during August 2020 - January 2021 and their impact on health, through an experimental and cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of twenty restaurants. 150 ml of vegetable oil used in french fries were taken in each place to proceed to the physicochemical and microbiological characterization, then the results of these analyzes were processed to establish descriptive statistics and the chi2 test for the association of variables with contingency tables. The mean values of the physicochemical parameters were: pH 7.14, temperature 18.65 degrees Celsius, relative density 0.91, acid number 1.19 and peroxide number 48.28 mEq O2/Kg. When making a comparison between parishes, it was determined that the restaurants of Maldonado parish are more prone to microbial growth due to the alkaline pH and in the same way, the peroxide index is almost three times higher compared to the restaurants in Velasco. For the microbiological analysis, the samples were analyzed on days 0 and 15 after their collection, with growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Proteus mirabilis, Acinetobacter spp and mesophilic aerobes. The antibiogram results showed that most of the bacteria were resistant to amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid, gentamicin, amikacin, and erythromycin. It is concluded that the analyzed samples presented physicochemical and microbiological alterations, which compromise their quality and are dangerous for the health of consumers who are at risk of developing diseases such as cancer and infections. Periodic control of the quality of these oils and training in handling them is recommended.