Abstract
Garri as popularly known in Nigeria is a general food consumed by most people in Nigeria. It could be eaten by reconstituting it with hot water, stirred to form a thick paste and eaten with soup or stew. It could also be taken dried or mixed with cold water and sugar/milk, as a snack. As a part of check mating the public health risk associated with this general dependence of the population on garri, the bacteriological quality of garri sold in Owerri open market was examined with the aim of investigating the bacterial contamination of garri due to exposure in the market as well as establish the hygienic statue of garri taken as snacks by many Nigeria. To achieve this, a total of one hundred and ten (110) garri samples were collected from Eke-ukwu market, relief market, Eke-Mmegbu market, Orji market, IMSU gate market and some local garri processing factories within Oweri metropolis to serve as control. The samples were analyzed bacteriologically for viable heterotrophic bacteria and coliform bacteria counts on Nutrient and MacConkey agar respectively, using pour plate method. The mean value results from all the markets revealed high bacterial contamination, except from the factory. The resultant data were analyzed statistically using Chi-square to determine if there is a significant difference between the five markets. When calculated, the value of the five markets was 35.75 while the tabulated was 11.07. This implies that there was a significant difference between the five markets. Identified bacteria included: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidenmidis, Bacilus cerus, Escherichia coli and Klebsielia aerogenes. Isolation of these bacteria is a sign of danger, hence, Imo State government is advised to take measures such as making environmental sanitation a priority project in the state to save the lives of the citizens. Key words: Market, sample, snack, organism, contamination, Owerri.
Highlights
“Garri” as popularly known in Nigeria is a staple food for most Nigerians
This indicates that Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant isolate, while E. coli was isolated from four out of the five markets
B.cereus and Staphylococcus epidemidis were isolated from three different market each and Klebsiella aerogenes was isolated from only one market
Summary
“Garri” as popularly known in Nigeria is a staple food for most Nigerians It is prepared by fermenting grated fresh cassava (Manihot esculenta (rantz) roots. In Nigeria, the sales and distribution of garri in local markets is associated with practice such as displaying of the products in open buckets, bowls and mats at points of sales and the use of bare hands during handling and sales. These unhygienic practices, may lead to microbial contamination due to deposition of bioaerosols on exposed products (Amadi and Adebola, 2008). He states that food poisoning could have been minimized, if the food producers and processors are trained in safe – food – handling and consumers are better adviced in the choice of food
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