The Bacteriology of Fried Ready-To-Eat Foods Sold In Enugu Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

A research to investigate the bacteriology of four selected fried ready-to-eat food types (Yam, Potato, Akara and Plantain) sold freely and openly in various zones in Enugu metropolis between May and September, 2011 was carried out. Of the 160 samples examined, 151(94.4%) were contaminated by various bacterial agents. Of the 151 contaminated, 91(60.3%) were sampled in the morning, while 60(39.7%) were sampled in the evening, and the difference between the total number of isolates in the 2 periods was statistically significant (P<0.05). Of the 151 positive samples, 47(31.1%) were bought from the covered source (show cases) while 104 (68.9%) were purchased from uncovered source, which difference was also statistically significant (P<0.05). Of the 151 positive samples, Diphtheroids contaminated the highest number of samples with 41(27.2%), followed by Bacillus subtilis 31(21.0%), Streptococcus feacalis and Klebsiella aerogenes were the least with 2(1.3%) each. Of the 151 positive samples, 135(89.4%) were contaminated by Gram positive organisms while 16(10.6%) were Gram negative, and the difference was also statistically significant (P<0.05). Mean bacterial count of the bacterial isolates showed that fried yams had the highest count of 2.8x10 2 with a contamination rate of 40(100%) while fried plantain had the lowest mean count of 1.0x10 2 with a contamination rate of 40(100%), statistically, there was significant difference in the bacterial counts of the different food types (P<0.05). Generally, a total of 7 bacterial genera were encountered, and there was statistically no significant difference in generic distribution according to food types (P>0.05). These findings suggest that the consumption of commercially prepared fried ready-to-eat foods sold in Enugu may have some public health implications. A controlled study involving more types of ready-to-eat foods from more areas over a longer period of time is hereby advocated in order to institute a regulatory measure. Standardization regimen is also recommended for the welfare of ever increasing consumers.