Microbiological quality of spice used in the production of Kilishi, a traditionally dried and grilled meat product

Abstract

Study was carried out on the microbiological quality of the spice mix used in the production of Kilishi. Twenty samples were analyzed. The analyses included; aerobic mesophilic bacterial count, staphylococcal count, fungal count, coliform count, detection of E. coli, Salmonella spp and Clostridium perfringens. The result of the analysis showed that the samples had a mean aerobic plate count, staphylococcal count and fungal count of 2.96x10 8 , 1.73x10 7 , and 1.04x10 5 cfu/g respectively. Coliform MPN of >2400/g. E. coli was detected in one of the samples, Salmonella spp one sample and Clostridium perfringens from four samples. The counts obtained were higher than the maximum acceptable levels provided by the Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It is therefore recommended that strict hygienic measures should be observed during the mixing of the spice in order to reduce the microbial load to an acceptable level.