scholarly journals Foodborne Diseases and Intoxication in Nigeria: Prevalence of Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella and Staphylococcus aureus

Author(s):  
Samuel Ekene Odo ◽  
Chidiebere Francis Uchechukwu ◽  
Ugochi Rita Ezemadu

The prevalence of foodborne diseases in Nigeria is alarming despite efforts by Government and Non-governmental Organizations to prevent the spread of foodborne pathogens. Health and socio-economic implications of foodborne diseases are enormous, including loss of productivity and low quality of life. In Nigeria, most people eat food at least once outside their homes every day. Food is an indispensable basic need of all humans and animals to sustain a healthy, reproductive and productive life. Humans are very active and highly productive when they consume safe food and are in a state of good health; however, consuming food already contaminated with microbial pathogens or its products such as Escherichia coli  0157:H7, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Clostridium spp., Campylobacter spp., and Staphylococcus aureus-toxin to a harmful level can cause severe illnesses and even progress to death. Therefore, it is essential for food handlers and vendors to maintain proper personal hygiene, undergo regular health checks, constantly improve environmental sanitation and adequately prepare food to prevent the spread of foodborne diseases. Consumers of ready-to-eat foods and food products should consider the overall safety of the food; environment where the food was prepared, where and how the food is distributed in order to mitigate likely foodborne infections and diseases. Water used in preparing food and watering animals should be clean and safe.

2014 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
pp. 1275-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
WAN MEI LEONG ◽  
RENAE GEIER ◽  
SARAH ENGSTROM ◽  
STEVE INGHAM ◽  
BARBARA INGHAM ◽  
...  

Potentially hazardous foods require time/temperature control for safety. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Code, most cheeses are potentially hazardous foods based on pH and water activity, and a product assessment is required to evaluate safety of storage >6 h at 21°C. We tested the ability of 67 market cheeses to support growth of Listeria monocytogenes (LM), Salmonella spp. (SALM), Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EC), and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) over 15 days at 25°C. Hard (Asiago and Cheddar), semi-hard (Colby and Havarti), and soft cheeses (mozzarella and Mexican-style), and reduced-sodium or reduced-fat types were tested. Single-pathogen cocktails were prepared and individually inoculated onto cheese slices (~105 CFU/g). Cocktails were 10 strains of L. monocytogenes, 6 of Salmonella spp., or 5 of E. coli O157:H7 or S. aureus. Inoculated slices were vacuum packaged and stored at 25°C for ≤15 days, with surviving inocula enumerated every 3 days. Percent salt-in-the-moisture phase, percent titratable acidity, pH, water activity, and levels of indigenous/starter bacteria were measured. Pathogens did not grow on 53 cheeses, while 14 cheeses supported growth of SA, 6 of SALM, 4 of LM, and 3 of EC. Of the cheeses supporting pathogen growth, all supported growth of SA, ranging from 0.57 to 3.08 log CFU/g (average 1.70 log CFU/g). Growth of SALM, LM, and EC ranged from 1.01 to 3.02 log CFU/g (average 2.05 log CFU/g), 0.60 to 2.68 log CFU/g (average 1.60 log CFU/g), and 0.41 to 2.90 log CFU/g (average 1.69 log CFU/g), respectively. Pathogen growth varied within cheese types or lots. Pathogen growth was influenced by pH and percent salt-in-the-moisture phase, and these two factors were used to establish growth/no-growth boundary conditions for safe, extended storage (≤25°C) of pasteurized milk cheeses. Pathogen growth/no-growth could not be predicted for Swiss-style cheeses, mold-ripened or bacterial surface–ripened cheeses, and cheeses made with nonbovine milk, as insufficient data were gathered. This challenge study data can support science-based decision making in a regulatory framework.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beyene Dobo

For good health, including fresh fruits and vegetables in our daily diet is very important. Fresh fruits and vegetables are highly perishable and affected by different microbial contaminants from production up to consumption. The objective of this study was to evaluate the important microbial spectrum of selected fruits and vegetables and their management from Hawassa town markets. A total of 27 fruit and 9 vegetable samples were analyzed for pathogens from their surface wash. The mean aerobic mesophillic count (AMC) ranged from 2.04x10-7cfu/ml to 4.2x10-6cfu/ml from the surface wash and the total coliform count (TC) ranged from 2.50LTBccfu/ml x10-7 to 1.5x10-6cfu/ml. Fecal coliform ranged from 3.2x10-6 to 0 cfu/ml and the range for Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus were 1.8x10-6 to 0 cfu/ml and 2.50LTBcx10-7 to 0 cfu/ml respectively. Mold and yeast count ranged from 7.6x10-6 to 0.2x10-4 from the fruit surface wash. There was statistically significant difference regarding to AMC and TC between markets in between banana and orange samples and they were detected in all fruit samples. From the 36 samples E. coli and molds and yeast were found in all fruit samples, and Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in 89% fruit samples in each. Activities during harvesting, transportation, storage and marketing conditions favored contamination of most commonly used fruits banana and orange. Besides, poor hygiene of the venders, using microbial unsafe containers, poor handling practice and poor environmental conditions such as sanitarily unsafe marketing environment were identified to be another sources of contamination. Hence, for safe and clean supply of fruits, community members working with the fruits must be trained on the ways by which fruits can be contaminated and the safe methods of harvesting, transportation, storage and vending the fruits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (8) ◽  
pp. 1302-1306
Author(s):  
EUN-SEON LEE ◽  
JONG-HUI KIM ◽  
MI-HWA OH

ABSTRACT In dairy plants, clean-in-place (CIP) equipment cannot be disassembled, making it difficult to clean the inner surface of pipes. In this study, the inhibitory effects of chemical agents on biofilms formed by three foodborne pathogens, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, was evaluated in a dairy CIP system. The experiment was conducted on a laboratory scale. Each of the three bacteria (200 μL) was inoculated onto stainless steel (SS) chips (25 by 25 mm), and the effect of single cleaning agents was evaluated. Individual treatments with NaClO (30, 50, 100, and 200 ppm), NaOH (0.005, 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1%), citric acid (1, 3, 5, and 7%), and nisin (5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 ppm) were used to clean the SS chip for 10 min. The most effective concentration of each solution was selected for further testing in a commercial plant. Simultaneous cleaning with 200 ppm of NaClO (10 min) and 7% citric acid (10 min) reduced the biofilms of B. cereus, E. coli, and S. aureus by 6.9, 7.0, and 8.0 log CFU/cm2, respectively. Both 7% citric acid and 0.1% NaOH were optimal treatments for E. coli. NaClO and citric acid are approved for use as food additives in the Republic of Korea. Our results revealed that a combined treatment with NaClO and citric acid is the most effective approach for reducing biofilms formed by common foodborne pathogens on CIP equipment. These findings can contribute to the production of safe dairy products. HIGHLIGHTS


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