Effectiveness of Powdered Detergent as Cleansing Agent of Mixing Bowls in Coin-Operated Coffee Vending Machines

The study aimed to determine the results of microbial analysis of uncleaned coffee mixing bowls and mixing bowls cleaned with powdered detergent. Specifically, it sought to: determine the number of viable bacterial cells in the uncleaned coffee mixing bowls; determine the number of viable bacterial cells in the coffee mixing bowls cleaned with powdered detergent; and compare the results of microbial analysis of uncleaned coffee mixing bowls and  cleaned mixing bowls. Pour plate method was used to examine further the mixing bowls at the Microbiological Testing Laboratory (MTL), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) – X. The results of the analysis for the uncleaned coffee mixing bowls yielded a result of 623,000 – 650,000 CFU that is still within the normal range of 400,000 - 800,000 CFU (DOST standard). The results of microbial analysis of coffee mixing bowls cleaned with powdered detergent yielded a result of 156,000 – 172,000 CFU. According to the DOST standard, the value is still within the normal since it is within the range of 400,000 - 800,000. However, it is evident from the results that those bowls treated with powdered detergent yielded lower count of microbes compared to those mixing bowls that were not cleaned.  This indicates that powdered detergent formula helps kill some of the bacteria in the coffee mixing bowls. The results further prove that the coffee from the vending machine is safe for human consumption.

 

Keywords: coffee vending machine, mixing bowl, automated coffee machine, coin operated machine