MICROBIOLOGY OF READY TO EAT SELECTED FOODS (AGIDI, OKPA)

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the microbiology of ready to eat selected foods (Agidi,Okpa) sold in  Umuahia, Abia state and transported to Linnc Medical  Laboratory Umudike for analysis. A total of Twenty (20) different samples of okpa and agidi (Bambara grundunt and zea mays), were examined for microbial contamination. A total of ten (10) bacterial were isolated of which four (4) different genera were identified which include Escherichia coli, staphylococcus anures,  Salmonella species and Shigella species. The fungal isolated were Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus ninger. The percentage occurrence of the bacterial isolate that staphlococcu anures   had the highest percentage occurrence of forty (40) percent, while the least percentage occurrence was observed for shigella species of ten (10) percent. For fungal the percentage occurrence of fungal isolate indicate that Asperigellus flavus had the highest percentage of sixty (60) while the least had the percentage of forty (40) was recorded for Aspergillus niger. These differences may be explained by the microbial quality of the ingredient used and personal hygiene of the vendors. Good hygiene should be ensured during preparation and sales of these foods, to prevent illness as a result of consumption of contaminated foods.    

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title                                                                                                                            Page

Title Page                                                                                                                     i

Certification                                                                                                               iii

Dedication                                                                                                                  iv

Acknowledgements                                                                                                    v

Table of Contents                                                                                                       vi

List of Tables                                                                                                              ix

Abstract                                                                                                                      x

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AIMS AND OBJECT                                                       

1.1 Aim and Objectives                                                                                                          3

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW                                                                                

2.1       Food spoilage/Preservation                                                                            6

2.1.1    Food Security                                                                                                 6

2.2.0    Sources of Food Contamination                                                                     7

2.2.1    Removal of Microorganisms                                                                          8

2.2.2    Low Temperature                                                                                           8

2.2.3    High Temperature                                                                                          8

2.2.4    Water Availability                                                                                          8

2.2.5    Chemical Based Presentation                                                                         9

2.2.6    Microbial Product-Based Inhibition                                                               9

2.3.0    Agidi (Produced from Maize)                                                                        9

2.3.1    Preparation of Agidi                                                                                       10

2.3.2    Nutritional Value of Agidi                                                                             11

2.4.0    Okpa ( produced from Bambarra groundnut)                                                 12

2.4.1    Nutritional Value of Okpa                                                                              12

2.5.0    Ways to reduce the health hazards                                                                 12

2.5.1    Food safety hazards                                                                                        12

2.5.2    Biological Hazards                                                                                         12

2.5.3    Biological Hazards Prevention                                                                       12

2.5.4    Chemical Hazards                                                                                           13

2.5.5    Chemical Hazards Prevention                                                                        13

2.5.6    Physical Hazards                                                                                            13

2.5.7    Allergic Hazards                                                                                             14

2.6       Regulations and Laws                                                                                     14

2.7       Consumers of ready to eat foods                                                                    14

2.8.0    Microbiological Safety                                                                                   15

2.8.1    Personal Hygiene                                                                                            16

2.9.0    Food Control Systems                                                                                    16

2.9.1    Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)                                         16

2.9.2    Food safety Modernization Act (FSMA)                                                        17

CHAPTER THREE MATERIAL AND METHODS

3.0       Material and Methods                                                                                     18

3.1       The Study Area                                                                                               18

3.2       Sample Collection                                                                                          18

3.3       Media Preparation                                                                                          18

3.4       Sample Processing                                                                                          19

3.5       Identification of Isolates                                                                                 19

3.6       Gram Staining                                                                                                19

3.7.0    Biochemical tests                                                                                            19

3.7.1    Catalase Tests                                                                                                 20

3.7.2    Coagulase Tests                                                                                              20

3.7.3    Oxidase Tests                                                                                                 20

3.7.4    Indole Tests                                                                                                    20

3.7.5    Methyl Red (MR) Test                                                                                   20

3.7.6    Voges Proskaver Test                                                                                     21

3.7.7    Test for Sugar fermentation, Carbohydrate Utilization                                 21

3.7.8    Catalase Test                                                                                                   21

CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS

4.0 Result                                                                                                                    22

CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION                                                              

5.1       Discussion                                                                                                       36

5.2       Conclusion

References                                                                                                                  38

LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

Ready to eat foods are those foods prepared on the market and ready to eat or prepared at home and consumed in the market without further preparation. Ready to eat food can be described as the status of food being ready for immediate consumption at the point of sale. Ready to eat food could be raw or cooked, hot or chilled, and can be consumed without further heat treatment (Tsang, 2002). Different terms have been used to describe such ready-to-eat food; these include convenient, ready, instant, and fast foods. Examples of such ready to eat foods include moi-moi, jollof-rice, fried meat, pastries, meat-pie, etc. Ready to eat foods usually include a number of ingredients which may or may not be cooked. Some Ready to eat foods also are regarded as potentially hazardous, such foods can support the growth of pathogenic (food poisoning) bacteria and must be kept at certain temperatures to minimize the growth of any pathogen that may be present in the food or to prevent the formation of toxins in the food (NSW, 2009). Although it’s extremely difficult to pinpoint the precise beginning of human awareness of the presence and role of microorganisms in foods, the available evidence indicates that this knowledge preceded the establishment of bacteriology or microbiology as a science (Jay, 2006). Purchasing ready to eat foods from the market vendors poses a considerable risk to public health especially done to the observed poor hygiene practices.

In most cases where studies on vendors have been done, the vendors do not have adequate washing facilities and some start their duties without proper bath. Foods are subjected to repeated contamination from unwashed hands and the materials for wrapping such as leaves, reusable polyethylene bags (Bryan et al., 1997).

There is a general perception that ready to eat vended foods are unsafe mainly because of the environment under which they are prepared and consumed which exposes the food to numerous potential contaminations. Ready to eat vendors usually take their food to their consumers and therefore operate from such places as bus terminals, market places, industrial sites and other street corners where ready and numerous clienteles. Unfortunately, these locations usually do not meet all food safety requirements. For e.g., large amount of garbage accumulates and provide harbourage for insects and other animal pests. The utensils used are also of a nature that lead to contamination especially through leaching of toxic heavy metals or simply due to unsanitary exposure to the environment (Nago,2005).

In contrast, concerns over the safety and quality of ready to eat foods have been raised because vendors lack appropriate basic food safety issues. They often use stands and carts of crude and inefficient constructions running water is not easily accessible hand and dish washing is done in the same bucket, sometimes without soap. In many cases toilets are not available thus forcing the vendors to eliminate their body waste in nearby areas and return to their vending sites without washing their hands. Such conditions and practises are likely to lead to cross contamination of cooked foods (Mensah et al., 2002). Furthermore, safe food storage temperatures are difficult to maintain, since foods are often displayed over long periods and may not be reheated before serving. In other cases, vendors buy raw materials from dubious sources which may either already be contaminated with food borne pathogens or be unfit for consumption due to other reasons. However, microbiological studies on ready to eat foods in American, Asian and African countries have revealed high bacterial counts and a high incidence of food borne bacterial pathogens in the food.  Ready to eat food can be of animal and plant origin including fruits, vegetables and bakery products (USFDA, 2009). Since Ready to eat foods are consumed without additional treatment, a risk of foodborne disease outbreaks linked to the consumption of ready to eat foods are high if is the food was improperly handled. Ready to eat foods were a source of bacterial foodborne outbreaks and various foodborne pathogens have been found in the RTE products in previous studies (Castro-Rosas et al., 2012; Seow et al., 2012).

The consumption of street foods has been suggested to potentially increase the risk of foodborne diseases as street foods are readily contaminated from different sources as there is no proper safety, quality and hygiene practices during preparation (Tambekaret al., 2008). In fact, street foods have often been associated with travellers’ diarrhea and other foodborne diseases.

Lacking personal hygiene among food handlers is one of the most commonly reported practices contributing to food-borne illness and poor hand and surface hygiene is also a significant contributory factor (Bryan, 1997; WHO, 2000). Contamination of food premises has been shown to be associated with poor hygiene standards (Cogan et al., 2002). The hands of food handler can be pivotal as vector in the spread of food-borne diseases due to poor personal hygiene or cross-contamination. Hand washing, a simple and effective way to cut down on cross contamination is too often forgotten. It was reported that 42% of food-borne diseases outbreaks which took place in America have been caused by food handlers (Sadiq, 2008). The risk of food-borne illness due contact with hand or surface depends on both the level of contamination as well as the probability of transfer, and the importance of contaminated surface in relation to potential transmission of pathogens to food is apparent in food processing (Synchet al., 2000).

1.1       AIM AND OBJECTIVES

AIM

The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and quality of Ready-to-eat foods in Umuahia.

OBJECTIVES:

1.              To determine the total bacterial counts of the isolated from ready to eat selected foods in Umuahia

2.              To characterize and identify the isolated organisms from the samples

3.              To determine the percentage occurrence of the organisms isolated from different food samples

4.              To carry out antibiotics susceptibility tests on the organisms isolated from ready to eat foods in Umuahia.

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