BACTERIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF FRIED-READY-TO EAT (RTE) VENDED FOODS SOLD IN OSOGBO, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the bacteriological profile of Enterobacteriaceae from ready-to-eat (RTE) fried foods and to also screen for the presence of shiga-toxins, intimin and haemolysin genes which are indicator genes for food-borne infections and diseases. The morphological and biochemical characterizations were carried out using standard isolation techniques while enumeration was done using a colony counter. To study the resistance and susceptibility pattern of the isolated Enterobacteriaceae, the characterized isolates were subjected to antibiotics susceptibility test using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The presence of stx 1 and 2 (shiga toxin genes), eaeA (intimin gene) and hylA (haemolysin gene) were screened for in the multi-drug resistant (MDR) isolates. Six (6) species of bacteria were isolated from the RTE food samples namely: Proteus spp (20%), Escherichia coli (60%), Salmonella spp (30%), Klebsiella spp (30%), Staphylococcus spp (20%) and Shigella spp (50%) while the colonial count ranged from 60×10⁵-299×10³. The phenotypic antibiotics profile result showed that 60% of the multi-drug resistant organisms harboured stx1 and 2 while 40% harboured hylA. However, none of the MDR isolates were positive for eaeA. In conclusion, commercially vended RTE food handlers should be continuously educated on the importance of basic food hygiene and sanitation.