Pages: (17-26 )
Abstract
The periodic outbreak of coliform infections in the community is a cause for public health concern because of the implications for morbidity and mortality. We undertook a comparative investigation on bacteriological quality of sausage rolls sold by local vendors in Lagos State, Nigeria. A total of twenty sausage rolls were purposively sampled which included four samples each from five Local Government Areas (LGAs) namely, Yaba, Ikeja, Mushin, Bariga, and Surulere. Total viable count of associated bacteria was done by spread plate technique on Nutrient agar, MacConkey agar and Blood agar. The total aerobic plate count of the resulting cultures ranged from 1.0 x 108 – 1.0 x 1012 CFU/g and from 1.5 x 1010 – 5.5 x 1011 CFU/g for bacteria and coliform respectively. The isolated organisms were identified to be Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Leminorella grimontii, Enterobacter hormaechei, Hafnia alvei and Proteus mirabilis using the Microbact Identification System. The high populations of coliforms which are indicator organisms of
faecal contamination is worrisome and a cause for concern. Adoption of good manufacturing practice and hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) are necessary to prevent occurrence of food-borne illnesses in these areas.
Keywords: Sausage rolls, food-borne illnesses, coliforms, bacteriological quality,