Abstract

A total of sixty-four samples of four cooked foods from sixteen private primary schools in Akoka area of Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria were investigated for the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria. The area was divided into four zones, namely; Akoka north, Akoka south, Akoka east and Akoka west, using the four cardinal points. Four private primary schools were then selected from each of these zones. The standard plate count revealed that for Akoka North, the summary of the average microbial load for the rice, beans, meat and spaghetti samples are 3.5 × 10⁴ CFU/ml, 6.9 × 10⁴ CFU/ml, 4.9 × 10⁴ CFU/ml, and 2.4 × 10⁴ CFU/ml respectively; while the microbial load for similar sample in Akoka south are 2.9 × 10⁴ CFU/ml, 6.8 × 10⁴ CFU/ml, 4.9 × 10⁴ CFU/ml and 2.4 × 10⁴ CFU/ml respectively; whereas in Akoka East it is 3.3 × 10⁴ CFU/ml, 4.6 × 10⁴CFU/ml, 4.6 × 10⁴ CFU/ml and 2.5 × 10⁴ CFU/ml; and in Akoka West, it is 2.9 × 10⁴CFU/ml, 4.7 × 10⁴ CFU/ml, 4.9 × 10⁴ CFU/ml and 2.2 × 10⁴ CFU/ml. Further examination of the isolates revealed the presence of rod and cocci shaped bacteria. Some of these isolates were identified as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus cereus and these are possible pathogens.

Key word: Food samples, isolates, pathogens, primary schools, Akoka area, microbial load.