The bacteriological quality of Hamburger patties from fast-food restaurants in Umuahia, Nigeria

Abstract

Bacteriological analysis was conducted on sixteen samples of Hamburger patties from eight (A-H) f ast-food restaurants in Umuahia. Eight of the samples were made of ground chicken (A 1-H 1) and the other eight samples were made of ground beef (A 2-H 2). Both C1 and E1 samples gave the highest Escherichia coli count of 3.9 Log 10 cfu/g while sample E 2 gave the highest count of 3.7 Log 10 cfu/g amongst the beef samples. Samples C 1 and C 2 gave the highest Staphylococcal count of 3.95 Log 10 cfu/g and 3.7 Log 10 cfu/g respectively. The Salmonella count of 2.4 Log 10 cfu/g was recorded by samples C 1 and E 2. The highest total aerobic plate count was 4.29 Log 10 cfu/g from sample E2 while the lowest was recorded by sample D 1 with a count of 3.3 Log 10 cfu/g. Bacterial species isolated includes; S.aureus, E.coli, Bacillus spp, Proteus spp, Micrococcus spp, Pseudomonas spp and Salmonella spp. The presence of food-borne pathogens beyond the acceptable limit is of public health importance.