Abstract
Koozh is a fermented beverage made with millet flour and rice, and consumed by ethnic communities in Tamil Nadu, India. Six street vended samples were assessed for the total bacterial count (TBC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count, yeast-mould count (YMC), coliforms at 35°C and pathogens. The koozh pH ranged from 4.3 to 4.9 with high titratable acidity. Although no Staphaylococcus sp. and Listeria sp. were found, high colony counts of Clostridia sp., Salmonella sp. and Shigella sp. were present in some samples. The LAB was dominant as compared to TBC, YMC and coliforms. Pathogens were detected, indicating contamination following processing in the traditional fermented food. Key words: Fermented millet, street food, lactic acid bacteria, pathogens, microbiological quality, contamination.
Highlights
Millets are important minor cereals in tropical and subtropical regions and India is the largest producer
Six street vended samples were assessed for the total bacterial count (TBC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count, yeast-mould count (YMC), coliforms at 35°C and pathogens
Finger and pearl millet koozh were collected in 250-mL autoclaved, wide-mouthed, screw-capped plastic containers from market places in Salem district (Sa) and Chennai district (Ch), Tamil Nadu, India and immediately transported to the laboratory in insulated food containers with ice packs and analyzed
Summary
Millets are important minor cereals in tropical and subtropical regions and India is the largest producer. The millet flour is made into slurry with water by hand-mixing on the first day and left to ferment overnight (12-15 h); on the second day, broken rice (20% by weight of millet) is cooked in excess water, into which the fermented (12-15 h) millet slurry is mixed, stirred and cooked to make a thick porridge called noyee The fermentation of this porridge overnight (24 h) results in kali, a semi solid porridge to which the required amount of potable water is added (1:6 w/v) and handmixed with salt to prepare koozh. While kali has a shelf life of approximately one week at room temperature (25-30°C), koozh has low shelf life and is usually consumed within about 12 h of preparation It is prepared in homes and offered in temples during special festivals. This study was undertaken to assess the microbiological safety of koozh sold as street food
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