Microbiological quality of street-vended foods sold in Thulamela Municipality of South Africa

Abstract

The objective of the study was to examine the microbial quality of street-vended foods in Sibasa and Thohoyandou markets of Thulamela Municipality, South Africa. Gravy, salad, beef and chicken stews were randomly sampled from seven markets. Microbiological international standard methods were used for the Total plate counts, coliform bacteria, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, yeast and mould counts. The microbial counts (log10 CFU/g) of foods sold at Thohoyandou ranged from 2.0±2.08 to too numerous to count for Total plate count, 2.0±1.00 to 6.6±7.57 for Salmonella spp., 2.0±2.64 to 3.9±6.03 for S. aureus, 2.3±1.73 to too numerous to count for yeast. At Sibasa, microbial counts (log10 CFU/g) ranged from 2.1±6.24 to 6.9±5.30 for total plate count, 2.0±0.00 to 3.8±10.00 for coliform bacteria, 2.0±2.64 to 4.7±8.33 for Salmonella spp., 2.0±6.03 to 3.9±9.30, for S. aureus, 2.1±1.00 to 3.7±39.58 for yeast and 2.0±1.15 to 4.9±21.66 for B. cereus. Mould was not detected in all the foods sold at both locations. The total plate count was significantly different (P<0.05) between salads and chicken stews. For Salmonella spp., significant differences (P<0.05) were observed between salads and beef stews. For S. aureus, a significant difference was found in salads (P<0.05). For yeast, significant differences (P<0.05) were observed between salads and beef stews. The fact that most street-vended foods were contaminated with a range of microorganisms is a matter of public concern. Department of Health, South Africa should initiate a food safety program for the vendors to be trained in hygienic preparation of foods and good sanitation practices to better safeguard the health and wellness of consumers. There is also a need for Environmental Health Practitioners to mount a better monitoring system that would contain selling street-vended food that is unfit for human consumption.