MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF FROZEN CHICKEN SOLD IN SELECTED MARKET IN UMUAIHA

ABSTRACT

Contamination of poultry meat (frozen chicken) with foodborne pathogens remains an important public health issue, because it lead to illness if there are malpractices in handling, cooking or post-cooking storage of the product. The microbiological quality of frozen chicken were analyzed to determine their microbiological quality. Eighteen samples of frozen chicken were collected from five different markets (Gate 6, Ahieke, Amaoba, Nndoru, Ubani) in Umuahia metropolis. Three (3) fresh chicken served as control while fifteen (15) were frozen chicken parts (Leg, wing and lap) samples. The isolation, identifications, characterization and microbial counts were done using standard microbiological techniques methods.  All the frozen chicken samples from the five sellers examined were contaminated with some bacterial and fungal species namely, Klebsiella species, Bacillus species, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aurues, Salmonella species and Shigella species and fungal isolates were Rhizopus stolonifer and Mucor Species. The lap part of chicken has microbial loads from 3.0 x 105 to 8.3 x 105 while the fresh chicken (control) range from 5.7 x 105 to 9.1 x 105.The wing part of chicken has microbial loads from 2.2 x 105 to 6.7 x 105 while the fresh chicken (control) range from 6.2 x 105 to 9.1 x 105 and leg part of chicken has microbial load range from 2.3 x 105 to 8.7 x 105 while the fresh chicken (control) range from 7.4 x 105 to 8.6 x 105. Escherichia coli had the highest percentage occurrence 15(16.7%), followed by Shigella species 13(14.4%) and the least was Salmonella species 8(8.9%). These finding suggest that most of the frozen chicken parts stored in the open market may constitute sources of microbial food poisoning public health hazard.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page                                                                                                                                i

Certification                                                                                                                           ii

Dedication                                                                                                                              iii

Acknowledgement                                                                                                                  iv

Table of Contents                                                                                                                   v

List of Tables                                                                                                                          vii

Abstract                                                                                                                                  viii

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

1.1       Aims                                                                                                                           3

1.2       Objectives                                                                                                                   3

CHAPTER TWO

2.0       LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1       History and Definitions of Chicken                                                                            4

2.2       Nutritional Value of Chicken                                                                                     5

2.3       Uses of Chicken                                                                                                          5

2.3.1    Reared for meat                                                                                                          6

2.3.2    Reared for eggs                                                                                                           6

2.3.3    Reared as food                                                                                                            6

2.3.4    Reared as Pets                                                                                                             7

2.4       The Microbiological Safety and Quality of Poultry Meat                                          7

2.4.1    Salmonella and Campylobacter                                                                                 8

2.4.2    Clostridium perfringens                                                                                              9

2.4.3    Escherichia coli                                                                                                          10

2.4.4    Listeria monocytogenes                                                                                              10

2.4.5    Aspergillus niger                                                                                                        11

2.4.6    Mucor species                                                                                                             11

2.4.7    Spoilage organisms                                                                                                     12

2.5       Food Borne Organisms Associated With Chicken                                                     13

2.6       Factors Influencing Chicken Contamination                                                              13

2.7       Control of Chicken Contamination                                                                            15

CHAPTER THREE

3.0       MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1       Sample Collection                                                                                                      18

3.2       Sterilization of Materials                                                                                            18

3.3       Normal Saline Preparation                                                                                         18

3.3       Media Preparation                                                                                                      18

3.4       Preparation of Homogenate of Chicken Samples                                                      19

3.5       Microbiological Analysis                                                                                           19

3.6       Identification of Isolates                                                                                             19

3.7       Gram Staining                                                                                                             19

3.8       Motility Test (Hanging Drop method)                                                                       20

3.9       Biochemical Tests                                                                                                      21

3.9.1    Catalase Test                                                                                                               21

3.9.2    Oxidase Test                                                                                                               21

3.9.3    Citrate Utilization Test                                                                                               22

3.9.4    Indole Test                                                                                                                  22

3.9.5    Voges-Proskauer Test                                                                                                 22

3.9.6    Methyl Red Test                                                                                                         23

3.9.7    Identification of Fungal Isolates                                                                                 23

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0       RESULT

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0       DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1       Discussion                                                                                                                   36

5.2       Conclusion and Recommendation                                                                              39

5.3       Recommendation                                                                                                        39

            References                                                                                                                  41

LIST OF TABLES

Table                  Title                                                                Page

CHAPTER ONE

1.0          INTRODUCTION

 Chicken and poultry products have become popular due to their specific sensory attributes and the increasing tendency of the public to consider white meat as being healthier compared to red meat (Geornaras et al., 2000). The first consumer right is to have a product of good quality and not constituting any health hazard. Microorganisms are ubiquitous and resident in wide varieties of foods of plants and animal origin. All foods possess a finite risk of microbiological contamination, but according to Roberts (2000), the highest risk factors include raw and animal foods. Chicken meat is one of such kind of products. Like every other animal, live chickens are hosts to diverse microorganisms residing on their skin, feathers and alimentary tract. These microorganisms can possibly contaminate the meat during processing chain, such as slaughtering, feather plucking, evisceration, and storage (Kozačinski et al., 2006; Bhaisare et al., 2014). Moreover, when processed in unhygienic environments, others microorganisms present in the environment, equipment, and processors hands/apron can contaminate the final meat product. The presence of pathogenic microorganisms, spoilage microorganisms, or both in poultry is undesirable but unavoidable and lead chicken meat to be deteriorated in quality (Russell, 2004).  Meat cannot be without microorganisms but their number can be increased by providing the optimum temperature, humidity, and oxygen leading to spoilage while the microbial growth will be static and limited at frozen temperatures (Nollet, 2007; Biswas et al., 2011).

Fresh (uncooked) foods such as chicken carries natural microflora that may contain organisms potentially harmful to humans. Reports abound on the bacteriological quality of commercial poultry and other livestock’s products (Akbar and Anal, 2013; Adeyanju and Ishola, 2014; Bhaisare et al., 2014; Omorodion and Odu, 2014; Firildak et al., 2015; Chuku et al., 2016, Zakki et al., 2017). The microbial flora of table poultry is largely confined to the skin surface or visceral cavity. Isolates from poultry and poultry products could include members of the following general Enterobacter, Alcaligenes, Escherichia, Bacillus, Micrococcus, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Coryne bacterium and Salmonella (Frazier and Westhoff, 1988). Contamination of the skin and lining of the body cavity occurs during washing, plucking and evisceration. Bacterial numbers vary considerably on the surface of chickens. This variation however is greater between birds than is between different areas of the same birds. The type of organisms isolated depends upon where the samples were taken and upon the stage of processing (Frazier and Westhoff, 1988).

Poultry and poultry products are frequently contaminated with several types of microorganisms. This problem is even more severe under temperature-abused conditions as well as improper or inefficient refrigeration commonly observed in retail chicken sold in open markets. Poultry can be kept in good condition for months if freezing is prompt and rapid and the storage temperature is low enough. Poultry should freeze fast enough to retain most of the natural bloom or external appearance of a freshly dressed fowl. The storage temperature should be below 17.8^oC and the relative humidity above 95 percent to reduce surface drying. Most poultry is sharp-frozen at about 29^oC or less in circulating air or on a moving belt in a freezing tunnel. Other spoilage micro-organisms are introduced into the poultry products by the workmen during cutting and evisceration, through water, and air in the dressing, cooling and cutting room environment (Allenet al., 2000). However, various methods are used in the preservation of these poultry products in order to reduce the incidence of these organisms. These include asepsis, use of heat, use of low temperature, chilling, freezing, preservatives such as acetic, adipic, succinic etc. at pH 2.5 and use irradiation (Frazier and Westhoff, 1988). Despite these methods of preservation, contamination of poultry products remains the order of the day before it gets to the final consumer. 

1.1       AIMS

The aim of this study is to investigate the microbiological quality of frozen chicken sold in Umuahia metropolis.

1.2 OBJECTIVES

   The objectives include he following:

i. To isolate the various microorganism (bacteria and fungi) associated with frozen chicken purchased from different sellers in Umuahia markets.

ii.         To characterize and identify these micro-organisms (bacterial and fungal).

iii.        To compare the level of contamination of the samples (frozen chicken) and fresh chicken collected from different sellers in Umuahia markets.

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