Chemical and microbial assessment of beef and chicken shawarma sandwiches in Ismailia governorate and its impact on consumer health

Abstract

A total of 40 random beef and chicken shawarma sandwiches samples (20 of each) from different fast food restaurants in Ismailia governorate were collected and examined chemically by estimation of moisture %, carbohydrate %, protein %, fat%, and lead values. The obtained results indicated that the mean values in the examined samples were 45.53  0.12-45.44  0.11 ; 25.38  0.11-24.02  0.07 ; 18.48  0.04-18.44  0.06 ; 9.21  0.03-10.38  0.04 and 0.106 ± 0.013-0.059± 0.008 ppm respectively, The results of this Study indicated that ready-to eat Shawarma Sandwiches have Pb values within the tolerance limit set by the EOS (2005). The obtained results revealed that the mean values of aerobic plate count, Enterobacteriaceae and Staph. aureus counts of beef and chicken shawarma were 4.8 x 10 4  3.6 x 10 3 , 4.2 x 10 4  2.8 x 10 3 ; 6.8 x 10 2  0.2 x 10 2 , 1.3 x 10 3  0.2 x 10 2 and 5.2 x 10 3  1.5 x 10 2 , 3.6 x 10 3  0.8 x 10 2 respectively. Salmonella represented 10% of beef shawarma sandwiches samples and 15% of chicken shawarma. The isolated serotypes of Salmonella were S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis. The public health significance and the possible sources of contamination of shawarma sandwiches, as well as some recommendations to improve the quality of such food articles were discussed.