Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the microbial status of beverages and desserts containing strawberries sold at coffee outlets in Busan, South Korea. The study sought to identify differences in types of foodservice management and microbial status of beverages and desserts. Research design and methodology: This study compared microbial status between franchised and single-unit outlets via microbial laboratory tests. In addition, impact of risk factors on microbial status were investigated. We analyzed the data using independent t-tests and chi-square tests. In order to measure the impact of risk factors on microbial status, multiple regression was run. We expected franchised outlets to be more likely to apply food safety practices than single-unit outlets. The principal results: Results of microbial testing showed that franchised outlets had a higher microbial status than single-unit outlets. The results showed that franchise outlets were more inclined to adhere to food safety practices than single-unit outlets when it comes to total number of bacteria however for coliform group results showed otherwise. Major conclusions: These study results suggest that a standard food safety and sanitation manual for coffee outlets is needed, especially for single-unit coffee outlets. The current inspection items should be revised accordingly to ensure customer safety.