Quantification of the Probability of Exposure of Humans to Pathogenic Microbes Present in Some Ready-To-Eat Foods Served in Nigerian Restaurants

Ebere Julein Okafor-Elenwo,Odaro Stanley Imade

doi:10.48198/njpas/20.a06

Abstract

Foodborne diseases have become global public health problems. Some ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, particularly vegetable salads, are generally considered as high-risk foods because they often harbour myriad of microbial pathogens. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate the probability of exposure of humans to pathogenic microbes in RTE salads and fufu served in Nigerian restaurants. Isolation of bacteria in the samples was carried out with the pour plate technique. Identification of bacterial colonies was performed with phenotypic methods and 16S rRNA gene analysis. The parasitological examination was performed with zinc sulphate centrifugal floatation method. Overall mean aerobic plate counts (APC) of salad and fufu samples were 7.10 ± 6.69 log10 CFU/g and 3.67 ± 2.77 log10 CFU/g respectively; while mean total coliform counts (TCC) were respectively 6.45 ± 5.90 log10 CFU/g and 2.46 ± 1.90 log10 CFU/g. Bacterial counts seen in salad samples were statistically significantly different (p = 0.009; α = 0.05 for APC and p = 0.001; α = 0.05 for TCC) from those recorded in fufu samples. The increasing order of human exposure to specific microbial genera present in the salad samples is Ascaris-Citrobacter- Serratia-Entamoeba- Staphylococcus- Pseudomonas- Bacillus- Proteus. Humans were only exposed to Bacillus species in fufu samples because most of the microbes that were found in salads were not present in fufu. Thus, it is recommended that sellers and food handlers of RTE foods, particularly the RTE salads, should routinely decontaminate and properly handle the vegetable ingredients used in preparing salads.

Highlights

Foodborne illnesses cause considerable health RTE salad is a term that refers to a mixture of burden annually which translates to huge loss in cream and sliced fruit and vegetables (Halablab et economic terms (Hanson et al, 2012; WHO, al., 2011; Uwamere et al, 2013)
The mean aerobic plate counts (APC) in the RTE salads ranged from 6.69 ± 6.38 log10 colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g) to 7.30 ± 7.20 log10 CFU/g
In the RTE fufu samples, the mean APC was between 3.53 ± 3.02 log10 CFU/g and 3.77 ± 3.27 log10 CFU/g

Summary

Introduction

Foodborne illnesses cause considerable health RTE salad is a term that refers to a mixture of burden annually which translates to huge loss in cream and sliced fruit and vegetables (Halablab et economic terms (Hanson et al, 2012; WHO, al., 2011; Uwamere et al, 2013). A significant often require no heating before consumption, proportion of the health burden occurs in making them high-risk foods (Nesbitt et al, 2009; developing countries due to unhygienic conditions Hannan et al, 2014). Namely ready-to-eat high-risk foods because the fruit and vegetables salad and ready-to-eat fermented cassava dough which served as the major ingredients harboured (locally referred to as fufu), frequently consumed an array of pathogenic microbes

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