Extent of microbial contamination of sausages sold in two Nigerian cities

Abstract

The microbial quality of sausages sold in Benin City and Abeokuta, Nigeria, were evaluated. Three samples were collected from each city and examined for microbial contamination. For sausage samples from Abeokuta, the total aerobic, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria and coliform counts were 2.06-2.87×106, 1.1-1.47×106, 1.7-2.33×106 and 1.57-2.17×106, respectively. The corresponding values for samples from Benin City were 3.5×106-4.0×108, 1.8×105-2.2×107, 1.3×104-3.7×105 and 5.0×104-9.6×108. The psychrophilic count in sausages from Benin City was 3.0×105-5.6×106. Escherichia coli, S. aureus, Streptococcus, Clostridium, Klebsiella, Shigella, Pseudomonas and Lactobacillus were isolated from sausages sold in Abeokuta, while Salmonella, Proteus, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella and Lactobacillus were isolated from sausages sold in Benin City. All these microorganisms have been implicated in foodborne diseases, suggesting the need to institute sanitary measures during the processing, storage and marketing of sausages in these areas.