Food safety

Food safety remains a critical public health concern globally, with dairy products repeatedly implicated in food-borne illness outbreaks. This study aimed to detect enteric pathogens in dairy products sold in Benin City, Edo State. Dairy product samples comprising of branded (Hollandia, Nana, Cedaa, and Super Yogo) and locally processed (Nono milk, Kindoromo, Wara, and Maishanu) products were purchased for this study. Enumeration and isolation of bacteria was done using serial dilution and pour plate techniques on selective agar. Bacterial isolates were identified based on cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics. The pH and total titratable acidity of samples were determined using a pH meter and acid/base titration method respectively, while antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The total heterotrophic bacteria count of the samples ranged from 4.8±0.26 to 8.6±0.26 ×10⁸ CFU/ml, while colony counts on MacConkey agar, Salmonella-Shigella agar, and Eosin methylene blue agar ranged from 0.80±0.485 to 6.67±1.53 ×10⁷ CFU/ml; 1.13±0.31 to 6.87±0.61 ×10⁴ CFU/ml and 5.07±0.64 to 7.0±0.40 ×10³ CFU/ml respectively. Six bacterial isolates were identified in this study, which include: Escherichia coli1 , Escherichia coli 2 , Salmonella sp.1 , Salmonella sp.2 , Enterobacter aerogenes and Serratia marcescens with Escherichia coli1 , Escherichia coli2 , Salmonella sp 1 and Salmonella sp 2. having the highest frequency of occurrence of 33.33% each. The pH values of dairy samples ranged from 3.82±0.01 to 6.96±0.03, while total titratable acidity ranged from 0.17±0.02 to 1.86±0.02 mg/l. Most isolates were resistant to antibiotics used, with resistance indices ranging from 0.1 to 0.8, with Enterobacter aerogenes and Salmonella sp.2 recording the highest resistance index of 0.8, indicating multidrug resistance pattern. This study revealed that dairy products (especially in locally processed dairy products) sold in Benin City showed the enteric bacteria which may possibly be pathogenic with high multidrug resistance profiles, underscoring the need for improved hygiene practices, enforcement of pasteurization standards, and stringent microbiological monitoring in the dairy value chain.

This study was aimed at determining fungal contaminants in Fried bean cake sold in four Local Government Area across Benin metropolis. A total of twelve (12) samples were analyzed using standard microbiological procedures. The fungal population was isolated and identified based on its cultural and morphological characteristics. The fungi isolated were Penicillium chrysogenum, Mucor mucedo, Aspergillus flavus, Saccharomyces sp. and Fusarium oxysporium. The mean fungal count ranged from 3.7 ×10 4cfu/g to 1.3 ×10 4 cfu/g and the prevalence of these fungal isolates ranged from 33.33% to 8.33%. Though the sample does not exceed the mean microbial count recommended standard of 10 5 cfu/g for ready-to-eat foods and the total fungal count of 10⁴ cfu/g for food. There might have been hygienic problems either in the processing, handling and distribution of the food. It is therefore encouraged that proper hygienic procedures are followed in the processing and handling of food to prevent the spread of microorganisms and its toxins that are of public health importance