Microbial Assessment of Food Contact Surfaces in Restaurants/Food Canteens at Ahmadu Bello University Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

Food contact surface is any surface with which food; especially unpackaged food normally comes in contact. These surfaces can harbour harmful micro-organisms and other substances which can contaminate food. This study was aimed at assessing the microbial quality of food contact surfaces from restaurants/food canteens in Ahmadu Bello University Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Ninety nine swab samples were collected from hands, plates, pots, spoons and tables, and analyzed for total aerobic plate count (TAPC), total coliform counts (TCC), Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The overall results showed that the mean TAPC obtained from pots (2.3 × 107 cfu/cm2 ) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those obtained from plates, hands, spoons and tables, while the mean TCC obtained from hands (4.5 × 106 cfu/cm2 ) was higher than those obtained from tables, plates, spoons and pots respectively. The prevalence of E. coli was significantly higher than that of S. aureus (36.6% vs 27.3%), but all occurred at a significant rate (P < 0.05). E. coli isolates showed resistance to ampicillin (30.6%), amoxicillin (27.8%) and tetracycline (25.0%), while that of S. aureus isolates showed high resistance to penicillin (100%), amoxicillin (88.9%), ampicillin (88.9%) and tetracycline (85.5%).Both E. coli and S. aureus isolates showed multidrug resistance nature with greater percentage (38.9%) of the E. coli and S. aureus (29.6%) isolates having MARI of 0.3 and 0.4 respectively. The high value of both TACP and TCC coupled with the isolation of E. coli and S. aureus may indicate faecal and sewage contaminations associated with unhygienic and unsanitary practices. The study recommends proper personal hygiene especially of the hands, washing and rinsing the food contact surfaces with warm soapy water and sanitizers; and proper disposal of sewage and garbage materials to reduce or eliminate hazards.