Abstract
Food poisoning (food-borne disease) is an infection that occurs after consuming food contaminated by sufficient numbers of viable pathogens and their toxins. It is a common and costly preventable infection that is of public health concern, and which is treated with available antibiotics. Jellof-rice, abacha, moi-moi and zobo drinks are some ready-to-eat foods sold within the PRESCO campus of Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki, Nigeria. These foods are commonly patronized by students and other unsuspecting visitors in this region, and they have been implicated in a handful of bacterial related infections in recent times. Random samples of the food items were collected from shops selling them, and these were analyzed microbiologically to determine the most prevalent organisms. Suspect isolates were identified and tested for antibiotic susceptibility profiles. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the commonest microbes isolated, and these showed varying rates of resistance and susceptibility to the tested drugs. Clindamycin, ampicillin and ofloxacin were less effective against the test organisms while gentamicin, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin showed substantial activity. The findings in this study showed that some ready-to-eat foods and zobo drinks sold within PRESCO campus of EBSU, Abakaliki, Nigeria were considerably contaminated with resistant pathogenic bacteria, hence, the need for constant monitoring of ready-to-eat foods in order to prevent the outbreak of food-borne illnesses in this region. Key words: Zobo drinks, ready-to-eat foods, bacteria, antibiotic resistance.
Highlights
According to the New South Wales Food Authority (NSWFA), ready-to-eat foods are foods that are originally consumed in the same state as that in which it is sold and does not include nuts in the shell and whole, raw fruits and vegetables that are intended for hulling, peeling or these foods are usually hazardous in that they support the growth of pathogens when not properly handled, prepared or stored; and they can serve as route for the onward transmission of food-borne pathogens in human population
Suspect colonies of E. coli and Klebsiella species were transferred to eosin-methylene blue (EMB) agar for proper differentiation
10 fold serial dilutions of zobo drink samples were performed using each sample of zobo drink, and these were inoculated into nutrient broth
Summary
According to the New South Wales Food Authority (NSWFA), ready-to-eat foods are foods that are originally consumed in the same state as that in which it is sold and does not include nuts in the shell and whole, raw fruits and vegetables that are intended for hulling, peeling or these foods are usually hazardous in that they support the growth of pathogens when not properly handled, prepared or stored; and they can serve as route for the onward transmission of food-borne pathogens in human population. Food poisoning can ensue after eating food contaminated by considerable number of viable pathogens, and this commonly occurs after eating at picnics, restaurants or fast food joint. Poor handling of these foods play critical role in the onward transmission of food-borne pathogens including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae to unsuspecting patronisers who eat them. The growing resistance of pathogens (including E. coli and Klebsiella species) isolated from locally prepared ready-to-eat foods is a public health concern in both developed and developing countries (Elkholy et al, 2003). This work is aimed at detecting the presence of some enteric pathogens from some ready-toeat foods and zobo drinks sold within the PRESCO campus of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
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