Nutritional Composition, Microbial Load of Some Pre-packaged Snacks and Safety Compliance of Informal Foodservice Operators in Oyo State

Abstract

Determination of the nutritional composition, microbial load, and observation of Food Health Inspector (FHI) on activities of the informal foodservice operators in some selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Oyo State with the view to ensure wholesome foods are sold within the study area. Proximate composition and microbial loads of some pre-packaged snacks bought from some informal foodservice operators were determined to confirm the compliance of the food with the recommended Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) values. Questionnaire was administered to elicit information from 26 Food Health Inspectors on the activities of the Informal Foodservice Operators (IFOs) in order to ensure wholesome foods were served. The pre-packaged foods analysed in this study showed that all the pre-packaged foods contained nutrients that is above the recommended SON value. Also, the microbial load of the pre-packaged foods after three days of incubation was lower than that of the recommended SON value. The response from the food health inspectors showed that the informal foodservice operators was not conforming with the safety methods of storage and preservation of the pre-packaged food. It can be concluded that, training of the informal foodservice operator is required to reduce incidence of food poisoning and ensure that wholesome foods are served in the study area. Also, strict sanction must be put in place for the informal foodservice operators who do not comply with set rules and regulations to ensure safe pre-packaged foods are sold in Oyo State.