C07 | Monitoring of health and hygiene parameters in the Carabinieri's collective catering facilities

G. Ferri¹, S. Pulze², A.R. Festino¹, C. Di Vittori¹, A. Astolfi¹, A. Vergara¹. | ¹Scuola di Specializzazione in Ispezione degli Alimenti di Origine Animale "G. Tiecco", Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Teramo, Teramo; ²Sezione del servizio per la veterinaria del comando generale dell’arma dei Carabinieri, Dipartimento per l’organizzazione sanitaria e veterinaria, Roma.

Purpose. Hygiene and health parameters were monitored at several Carabinieri canteens in central and southern Italy in order to assess the management aspects related to collective catering services. Methods. Between February 2024 and March 2025, 89 food matrices normally served in 23 canteens located in six Italian regions (Abruzzo, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise and Puglia) were subjected to qualitative and quantitative microbiological assessments. Food samples (100-150 g) were taken under sterile conditions, transported in a refrigerated state and analysed within a maximum of six hours of collection. For each sample, the following were assessed: total mesophilic count (TMC) (ISO 4833-1:2013/AMD-1:2022), and, using qualitative and quantitative detection methods, pathogens such as: Listeria monocytogenes (ISO 11290-1/2:2017), Escherichia coli O157 (ISO 16654:2017) and Salmonella spp. (ISO 6579-1/2:2020). Suspicious colonies were identified biochemically using the Vitek 2 automated micro-method system (bioMérieux, Paris, France) and subsequently subjected to biomolecular confirmation (end-point uniplex or multiplex PCR). Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the IBM^® SPSS Statistics system. The descriptive part included: calculation of the mean and standard deviations (SD) and assessment of the normality of the data using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Finally, the two-tailed t-test was applied to compare the quantitative microbiological results (dependent variables) for the different canteens tested (independent variables), considering the values obtained to be statistically significant if the p-value was <0.05. Results. The mean CMT value was 2.65 log CFU/g (SD= 1.21); more specifically, the highest [3.22 log CFU/g (SD= 1.36)] was observed in Puglia, while the lowest, 1.74 log CFU/g (SD= 0.63), was observed in Molise. The t-test showed statistically significant differences between the CMT values obtained from the canteens tested in the following regions: Abruzzo-Puglia (p=0.038), Campania-Marche (p<0.001) and Lazio-Campania (p=0.04). No foodstuffs were found to contain Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli or Salmonella spp. From a qualitative point of view, 16 bacterial strains commonly found on human skin, such as Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Pseudomonas spp. and coagulase-negative staphylococci, were identified most frequently in 17.98% of the foods analysed. Conclusions. This work and the data obtained provide a picture of the good hygiene and health status of the Carabinieri canteens in central and southern Italy. However, the identification of bacterial strains of anthropogenic (skin) origin highlights the need for particular attention to be paid to the constant and careful application of good hygiene practices, aimed at ensuring the protection of the health of the military community.