Abstract

The microbiological qualities of ready to eat foods sold in road-side and eateries were studied using the standard microbiological methods. The mean viable bacterial counts in food samples obtained from eateries ranged from 2.4 x10³±0.23 to 4.8 x10⁴±0.23 cfu/g, while the mean viable bacterial counts in food samples obtained from road side canteen ranged from 9.0 x10⁴±0.43 to 2.20 x 10⁵±0.40 cfu/g. The fungal counts in the food samples obtained from eateries ranged from 3.0 x 10³±0.15 to 3.5 x 10⁴±0.18 cfu/g while the fungal counts in food samples obtained from road side ranged from 2.5 x 10⁴±0.33 to 5.3 x 10⁴±0.22 cfu/g. The microorganisms isolated were identified based on their cultural characteristics, Gram staining and biochemical tests. A total of eight bacterial isolates were obtained from the salad samples which included Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus sp., Escherichia coli, Bacillus licheniformis and Klebsiella sp. The fungi isolated were: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Mucor mucedo, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium sp., Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp. and Rhizopus sp. Therefore, good personal hygiene, proper sanitation practice and the use of clean utensils during the preparation of ready to eat foods are recommended to avoid food poisoning and spoilage associated with the isolated microorganisms.

Key words: Ready-to-eat foods, hygiene, microbial analysis, food poisoning, canteen.