Abstract
Aim: To assess the bacteriological quality of ice creams marketed in Thrissur town, Kerala. Materials and Methods: Twenty seven ice cream samples randomly collected from selected retail outlets and street vendors in the town over a period of two months were analyzed for total viable count and for the presence of coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. Results: Total Viable Count ranged from 1.2 x 10 2 to 8.2 x 10 3 CFU/g in industrial brands whereas in street vendor samples it was high in the range of 5.2 x 10 5 to 6.6 x 10 6 CFU/g. Coliform counts were high in 30 % of the samples. 27 % of the samples had high Staphylococcal count. E coli were isolated from two samples from street vendors and Salmonella spp. from one of the samples. Listeria spp. was not isolated from any of the samples. Conclusion: The presence of potential pathogens in the ice cream samples reveals the significance of implementation of quality control measures in marketing ice creams thus reducing the public health hazards.
Highlights
Ice cream is one of the widely accepted food products in Kerala among children and adults
Microbial quality of ice cream is determined by total viable bacterial count, coliform count and presence of pathogenic microorganisms
Many psychrophiles and psychrotolerant bacteria like Listeria monocytogens, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., E. coli and other coliforms were isolated from ice creams [2]
Summary
Ice cream is one of the widely accepted food products in Kerala among children and adults. It is prepared by freezing a pasteurized mix containing milk products (milk, condensed milk, milk powder and cream), sugar, emulsifiers, stabilizers, flavouring and colouring agents, blended in a desirable proportion. In spite of all these, ice cream has been recently implicated in food poisoning outbreaks in Kerala [1]. Microbial quality of ice cream is determined by total viable bacterial count, coliform count and presence of pathogenic microorganisms. The present study was taken up to determine the bacteriological quality of ice cream marketed in Thrissur town, Kerala and to assess the potential of this frozen product to pose risk to public health
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
