Microbial quality of chevon and mutton sold in Tamale Metropolis of Northern Ghana

Adzitey Frederick,Teye G Ayum,Ayim A Gifty,Addy Samuel

doi:10.4314/jasem.v14i4.63257

Abstract

The microbial quality of 80 meat samples made up of 40 chevon and 40 mutton were collected from the Aboabo, Central-internal, Central-external, and Sakasaka meat shops in Tamale Metropolis and assessed in order to ascertain it safety. Chevon from Aboabo and mutton from the Central market-internal had the highest mean total aerobic bacterial count of 3.9 X 10 6 cfu/cm 2 and 3.7 X 10 6 cfu/cm 2 , respectively. The lowest total aerobic count in chevon was found in the Central-internal (6.0 X 10 5 cfu/cm 2 ) and that of mutton was found in Sakasaka market meat shop (6.0 X 10 5 cfu/cm 2 ). Bacteria isolated from the samples were Escherichia coli, Streptococcus species, Salmonella species , Enterococcus species, and Staphylococcus species, some of which harbor human pathogens of public health concern. The isolation of various bacteria in chevon and mutton sold in the Tamale Metropolis indicates that, lower standard of operating systems in the slaughtering, processing and sale of meats are adhered to. The Government of Ghana, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Food and Agriculture should enforce the laws that prohibit the illegal slaughtering of animals without veterinary inspection, unstandardized methods of handling animals, slaughtering and selling of meats on the open market. @JASEM J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage . December, 2010, Vol. 14 (4) 53 - 55

Highlights

Chevon and mutton play a significant role in the livelihood of most Ghanaians, they can be important source of food-borne human pathogens and subsequently food-borne diseases due to the poor handling conditions of meat in most Ghanaian markets
This study was undertaken to assess the level of microbial contamination in chevon and mutton sold in four most popular meat sale points in the Tamale Metropolis in the Northern Region of Ghana
The total aerobic bacterial count varied with place of collection and from sample to sample

Summary

Introduction

Chevon and mutton play a significant role in the livelihood of most Ghanaians, they can be important source of food-borne human pathogens and subsequently food-borne diseases due to the poor handling conditions of meat in most Ghanaian markets. This study was undertaken to assess the level of microbial contamination in chevon and mutton sold in four most popular meat sale points in the Tamale Metropolis in the Northern Region of Ghana. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sampling: Chevon and mutton were purchased from four well known and most popular meat selling points in the Tamale Metropolis namely: Aboabo, Centralinternal, Central-external, and Sakasaka markets.

Results

Conclusion