Determination of the microbiological quality and proximate composition of fermented cassava food products sold in Ilorin-west local government area, Nigeria

Abstract

In the present study, the microbiological safety and the proximate analyses of five urban markets within Ilorin-West Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria were carried out using standard protocols. The bacterial load of fermented staple products from cassava ranged from 0.1 to 10.9×105 CFU/g while the fungi and yeast content ranged from 1.1 to 8.2×105 CFU/g. The isolates of bacteria from all the markets include the following; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, Streptococus faecalis, Lactobacillus species, Acetobacter spp.., Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus species while the isolated fungi include Fusarium oxysporium, Aspergillus niger, A.flavus, A. fumigatus, Saccharomyces cerevisae, Candida albicans, Penicillum spp., Rhizopus stolonifera, Mucor spp..The results of the proximate composition showed that moisture content of fermented staple products of cassava ranged from 6.21% (garri Ijebu from market A and lebu from market C) to 72.25% (fufu from market C) while dry matter content ranged between 27.75% (Fufu from market C) to 93.79% (garri Ijebu market A and lebu from market C). Ash content ranged from 0.23% (Tapioca from market A) to 1.96% (lebu from market A), crude fibre content ranged between 1.13% (Fufu from market C) and 5.28% (Abacha from market D), and the carbohydrate content of the fermented staple products from cassava ranged from 18.61% (Fufu from market C) to 81.44% (Tapioca from market A). Even though some potential pathogenic bacteria like E.coli and Bacillus were isolated from cassava fermented products, the minimum microbial load obtained could not impose any health risk.