Abstract
Heavy metals and some pathogenic bacteria tend to contaminate food substances commonly consumed and this pose as health risks to the populace. The study was therefore conducted to assess the level of metal and bacteria contamination of meat barbecue (SUYA) commonly consumed in Anambra State, Nigeria. Thirty six sample were evenly collected from the sensational Zones and analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Metal values obtained range as follows: Cadmium(4.17-7.93mg/kg), Lead(0.24-3.39mg/kg),Zinc(2.6-28.3mg/kg) and Arsenic(0.19-2.3mg/kg). Samples from Anambra North had the highest Zinc, Lead, and Arsenic levels 14.02, 0.94, and 0.96mg/kg rewspectively, while Anambra South recorded the highest cadmium level 6.16mg/kg. The Estimated daily intake(EDI) of Cadmium alone was found to be greater than the recommended value in the 3 senatorial zones. Again only Cadmium had a target hazard quotient(THQ) of greater than one in all the senatorial zones. All the zones had hazard index (HI) greater than one. North(5.95+00). South,(8.1E+00) and Central(4.8+00). Cancer risk for cadmium recorded in all the zones were above accepted limits. While for Arsenic the North zone recorded levels above acceptable limits. The following bacteria species were isolated from analyze soya samples. Staphyloccocus cereus, Bacillus aureus, Salmonella species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia,however bacillus cereus was most commonly isolated and Pseudomonas aeruginosa least commonly isolated. The results indicated an appreciable level of contamination and a possible public health risk. Â
Highlights
Heavy metals and various pathogenic bacteria are most dangerous among the pollutants of urbanization, because of serious health problems it tends to cause to human population (Ojebah et al, 2015)
The most important bacterial meat spoilage is caused by lactic acid bacteria; these include many species such as Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus and Streptococcus which are physiologically related to a group of fastidious and ubiquitous gram-positive organisms
Cadmium was detected in all the suya samples with 100% of the suya sample seen to be higher than the maximum permissible limit set by WHO ( 0.5 mg/kg) (FAO/WHO, 2011) and CODEX ( 0.1mg/kg) (CODEX, 2011) in meat
Summary
Heavy metals and various pathogenic bacteria are most dangerous among the pollutants of urbanization, because of serious health problems it tends to cause to human population (Ojebah et al, 2015). Suya is a traditional beef barbecue, smoked or roasted, obtained from thinly sliced boneless meat and marinated with various spices such as clove, ginger, pepper, salt, peanut cake, vegetable oil as well as food additives and flavorings (Akpamu 2011; Egbebi and Seidu, 2011), enjoyed as a delicacy in West Africa (Eke et al, 2013) It is a street-vended food which provides a source of inexpensive, convenient and often nutritious menu for cities, urban and rural areas. The preparation of food usually result in their inadvertent bacterial contamination (Mead, 2004) especially if improperly handled or abused Some of these genera are known to be of public health concern and have been associated with cases of gastroenteritis and other food borne diseases (Moshood et al, 2012). The possible sources of contamination are through slaughtering of sick animals, washing the meat with dirty water by butchers, inappropriate exposure of the Suya meat, contamination by flies through processing done close to sewage or refuse dumps site, transportation by rickety vehicles, use of contaminated equipment such as, knife and other utensils and addition of unclean spices
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