An assessment on microbial quality of ready to eat cooked foods (Sadza, Rice and Relish), sold by vendors at Midlands State University (MSU) main campus bus terminus.

Abstract

Diarrheal diseases are the third leading cause of death in third world countries, resulting in 1.8 million deaths around the world per annum. A study was carried out to assess the microbial quality of ready to eat cooked foods sold at Midlands State University (MSU) bus terminus in March 2018. Type of samples which were microbially assessed were sadza, rice, chicken stew, beef stew, cabbage salads, pork chops and russian sausages. Sampling was done for three different days. A total of twenty one food samples were obtained from MSU bus terminus and transported to the MSU Biology Laboratory for all analyses. Total Bacterial Counts (TBC) and Total Coliform Counts (TCC) were done for each food sample in Plate Count Agar and Mackonkey Agar. Isolation and identification of specific groups of bacteria was carried out using inoculum prepared from the food samples. The mean TBC for sadza, rice, chicken stew, beef stew, cabbage salads, pork chops and russian sausages was 1.09 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.06 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.07 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.34 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.39 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.99 x 105 cfu/ml and 1.86 x 10 5 cfu/ml, respectively. The mean TCC of sadza, rice, chicken stew, beef stew, cabbage salads, pork chops and russian sausages was 1.26 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.09 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.18 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.85 x 105 cfu/ml, 1.52 x 105 cfu/ml, 2.05 x 105 cfu/ml and 1.98 x 105 cfu/ml, respectively. TBC counts for all food samples were below the recommended threshold of 1 x 106 cfu/ml and all TCC means for all the food samples were above the recommended threshold of 1 x 105 cfu/ml. This study showed that the type of food had no significant effect on the total bacterial count, ANOVA (P= 0.000). Cabbage salads, pork chops and Russian sausages had high TBC as compared to other samples. A total of three bacterial genera were isolated and identified and these were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. Escherichia coli was most prevalent (52.38 %) micro-organism in all the food samples. Klebsiella spp was isolated the least number of times with a prevalence of 38.1 %. Staphylococcus aureus had a prevalence of 42.85%. Identification of faecal coliforms in food which is consumed by people indicates poor quality of the food and a high degree of spoilage it has undergone. Isolation of Staphylococcus aureus showed poor personal hygiene of vendors and lack of knowledge on food safety. These bacterial isolates pose a great risk MSU students,staff members and the surrounding community, as they are constant customers of vendors at MSU bus terminus.