Microbiological Quality Assessment of Foods Sold in Student’s Cafeterias (Case Study of Baze University)
CHAPTER ONE
Aim of study
The aim of the study was to assess Microbiological quality assessment of foods sold in student’s cafeterias and food safety in Baze University Abuja.
Objective
Therefore the objectives of the study were to
- assess the food handling practices exhibited by vendors
- determine the microbial load of food sold.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is a review of available literature particularly in Nigeria, Africa and other parts of the world. It involves all aspects of food safety and Microbiological quality assessment of foods sold in student’s cafeterias.
Food
Food is life. In Abraham Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs, the most important need after life is the requirement for food. The American psychologist could not have been more accurate in his conceptualization of a “hierarchy of human needs.” Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support to the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins and mineral. Food is usually ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism’s cells in order to produce energy, maintain life and stimulate growth.
Food can also be described as every article manufactured, sold, or represented for use as food or drink for human consumption, or any item that enters into or is used in the composition, preparation, or preservation of any food or drink. Food and drink include confectionery and chewing substances and their respective ingredients (Food Act, 1983)
Like many other developing countries, Nigeria faces the challenge of providing adequate food supply for its teeming population. Towards this end, policies and programmes aimed at boosting agricultural and food production are being actively promoted, but the issue of food safety still poses a more daunting challenge. Therefore, Nigeria has to contend with the problem of food- borne diseases with its attendant social, economic and health costs.
Food has been identified globally as not only a biological need but also as an economic and political weapon. It is constantly a potential source of socio-political problems in communities and nations. Therefore, it is pertinent to have an assurance that food consumed is adequate, nutritious, good quality and wholesome.
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHODS OF RESEARCH
Introduction
In this chapter, we would describe how the study was carried out.
Research design
Research design is a detailed outline of how an investigation took place. It entails how data is collected, the data collection tools used and the mode of analyzing data collected (Cooper & Schindler (2006). This study used a descriptive research design. Gill and Johnson (2002) state that a descriptive design looks at particular characteristics of a specific population of subjects, at a particular point in time or at different times for comparative purposes. The choice of a survey design for this study was deemed appropriate as Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) attest that it enables the researcher to determine the nature of prevailing conditions without manipulating the subjects.
Further, the survey method was useful in describing the characteristics of a large population and no other method of observation can provide this general capability. On the other hand, since the time duration to complete the research project was limited, the survey method was a cost effective way to gather information from a large group of people within a short time. The survey design made feasible very large samples and thus making the results statistically significant even when analyzing multiple variables. It allowed for many questions to be asked about a given topic giving considerable flexibility to the analysis. Usually, high reliability is easy to obtain by presenting all subjects with a standardized stimulus; observer subjectivity is greatly eliminated. Cooper and Schindler (2006) assert that the results of a survey can be easily generalized to the entire population.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF DATA AND ANALYSIS
The mean microbial population of the food samples analyzed is presented in Table 1. In site I, the total aerobic plate count ranged from 2.5 × 103 for jollof rice to 9.1 × 106 for coleslaw, fungal counts ranged from 6.0
× 102 for jollof rice to 7.3 × 104 for coleslaw; coliform counts ranged from 3.2 × 103 for jollof rice to 3.4 × 104 for fried rice and coleslaw. Table 1 also reveal that in site II, total aerobic plate count ranged from 2.7 x 103 in jollof rice to 9.8 x 106 in coleslaw. Fungal count of 9.3 x 106 was highest in coleslaw while coliform count ranges from 5.2 x 103 in jollof rice to 7.8 x 104 in moi-moi.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Discussion Of Findings
The foods provided to the students by the vending sites on campus and University host community are of acceptable microbiological quality, except however, for
coleslaw with tolerable to unacceptable microbial loads. The International Commission for Microbiological Specification for Foods (ICMSF,1996) states that ready-to-eat foods with plate counts between 0 – 103 is acceptable, between 104 – ≤ 105 is tolerable and 106 and above is unacceptable. The high level of contamination of coleslaw could be associated to the fact that it is food that is eaten raw without heat processing; similarly the extensive handling and mixing during processing could have introduced contaminants via food handlers, utensils and from the environment. Food handling personnel play important role in ensuring food safety throughout the chain of food production, processing, storage and preparation. Mishandling and disregard to hygienic measures on the part of the food vendors have been reported to introduce contaminant and pathogens that survive and multiply in sufficient numbers to cause illness in the consumer (WHO,1989; Greig et al. 2007; Todd et al. 2007a; 2007b).
The well preparation of foods in advance of consumption, exposure, holding of food at ambient temperature conducive for microbial multiplication coupled with the rich medium of coleslaw could equally be a factor in the increased microbial loads of the samples (Abdussalam and Kaferstein 1993; Food safety, 2003).
The isolation of B. cereus, S. aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella spp, Proteus spp, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Mucor spp and Penicillium spp, corroborate the findings of Nichols et al., 1999; Mensah et al., 2002; Idowu, 2006; Taulo et al., 2008 in which these organisms was implicated in ready- to- eat- foods.
The occurrence of Bacillus spp and the moulds Aspergillus spp, Penicillium spp and Mucor spp in the foods could be due to the fact that they are spore formers. These heat-resistant spores may have survived processing while vegetative cells were eliminated. Contamination of foods could have resulted from inappropriate processing, incomplete heating, or secondary contamination via contact with contaminated equipments and utensils.
Although Salmonella or Shigella species were not detected, the presence of E. coli and other Enterobacteria is an indication of possible faecal contamination of food, water or food workers and poor hygienic processing practices (Little et al., 1998; Tambekar et al., 2007). The presence of S. aureus is largely as a result of human contact and this suggests poor hygiene practices of the operators since this organism is a normal flora of the skin and nasal passage (Garret, 1988; Nichols et al., 1999).
The fungi Aspergillus spp, Penicillium spp and Mucor spp are common environmental contaminants so is Bacillus spp. S. aureus commonly from man, thus there higher percentage prevalence is therefore not out of order (Aboloma, 2008, Kawo and Abdulmumin, 2009; Hazariwala, 2002).
It is mandatory that foods must be free from contaminations as much as possible. The presence of E. coli, S. aureus and B. cereus demonstrates a potential health risk as these organisms are pathogenic and have been implicated in food borne diseases (Granum, 2005; Wagner, 2009; CFIA, 2009). Foodborne illness can be prevented by good hygiene practices such as the use of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) application in the chain of food production and processing. Education of the food handlers/food vendors on food safety practices and a close and stringent supervision of ready-to-eat foods sold in the schools should be carried out by relevant authorities to prevent foodborne illness.
Conclusion
The presence of E. coli, Klebsiella sp. is of concern and further supports the possibility of faecal contamination of products due to poor sanitation. Cross contamination of food during preparation has been iden- tified as an important factor associated with food borne illness. Epidemiological evidences have implicated food as a vector of pathogenic organisms. When these organisms are ingested, this will cause greater harm to human health. Biological contaminants of bacterial origin are a major cause of food borne dis- ease giving rise to acute chronic illnesses such as E. coli gastroenteritis. The prevalence of mesophilic bacilli shows that rice grains and ingredients such as rice and wheat flour used in preparation of these fast foods generally contain spores of Bacillus. This organism produces heat-sensitive (diarrheal) and heat-stable (emetic) toxins associated with food poisoning. Klebsiella sp. causes gastrointestinal infection.
Staphylococcus aureus could have been introduced through unclean hands and mouth of the vendor and cus- tomers. S. aureus is an opportunistic pathogen and enterotoxigenic strains are known to cause food intoxication and poisoning.
Fast foods are consumed by majority of the populace in cities and towns because of the busy lifestyle, and thus it is mandatory that these foods are free of microbial contamination as much as possible. Food borne illnesses can be prevented by good hygiene practices during the preparation of food. The occurrence of food borne illnesses can be prevented by ensuring that foods sold are safe and hygienic; public awareness programs are encouraged in order to enlighten food processors, food vendors and personnel involved in food preparation. There is also a need for this group of individuals to be educated on the requirement of water meaning for food processing and consumption. Proper sanitation of all equipment and utensils, care for the environment and the packaging materials so as to prevent the spread of contaminants will help in safety of food.
Recommendations
Based on the findings and observation during the course of the study, some of the recommendations emphasize measures that could prevent food contamination and possible food disease outbreak by promoting good hygiene that would ensure safety of food consumed in the Baze University. This includes but not limited to the following:
- The activities of the food handlers in Student Cafeterias should be regularly monitored and appropriate corrections should be made by supervisors when food safety procedures are breached
- Strict hygiene control should be practiced at all time during preparation and dispensing of food to prevent food contamination
- Baze University should establish a unit that will register, train, educate and re-educate food handlers on food safety and hygiene most importantly in the area of effective and safe food handling and environmental sanitation
- The Government should support and encourage more scientific research on food safety by providing grants and other useful facilities that will motivate tertiary institutions and relevant agencies in carrying out various researches on food safety.
- Certain levels of food safety standards and specifications should be established by relevant Government authorities that every boarding school must adhere to when setting up the kitchen and dining hall to protect the students and staff from possible food borne disease outbreak.
- Environmental and health education programmes should be established to raise awareness on food safety, the causes and prevention in every food processing centers. This will ensure the food handlers are better equipped in the area of food hygiene and environmental sanitation.
References
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- Anonymous, (1988). Bacteriological quality.http://dsp- psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/H48-10-1-3-1991E.pdf. Pg. 8-15.
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