Frozen Retail Poultry Meat Contact Surfaces as Sources of Salmonella and Escherichia Coli Contamination in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Food contact surfaces serve as sources of food contamination. These contact surfaces if not properly washed are additional sources of foodborne pathogens predisposing to foodborne illnesses. Of importance is contact surfaces of raw unprocessed meat. Contact surfaces from which frozen poultry meat are been sold in Bodija and Academy areas of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, comprising wooden tables, weighing scales and cutting knives, were assayed to access levels of contamination with preference to Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Microbiological Standards and Guidelines by USDA (National Agricultural library) and NCCLS guidelines (from Global Salm-Surv, 2003) were used during the research work. Statistical software SPSS for Windows was used for statistical analysis (SPSS Inc., 1992). The study was approved by the Ethical Research Review Board (ERRB), University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Forty-two swab samples were randomly taken from contact surface materials, fourteen each of wooden tables, knives and weighing scales used in retail sales of poultry meat. From the forty-two (42) swab samples collected, log mean cfu/cm2 ± SD of Aerobic Plate Count was at 7.78 ± 0.35 while for Enterobacteriaceae counts, it was at 7.65 ± 0.33. ISO 6579: 2002 was used for Salmonella isolation and ISO-16654:2001 for Escherichia coli isolation. Fifteen (15) Salmonella isolates were obtained comprising ten (10) from knives at 23.8%, five (5) from weighing scales at 11.9% and non (0) from wooden tables (0%) while sixteen (16) Escherichiacoli isolates, eight from (8) knives,five from (5) scales and three from (3) wooden tables, at 7.1%, 19% and 11.9% were respectively obtained. The reflection of the work is that these meat contact surface materials will serve as further sources of cross contamination if not properly cleaned before use.