Revista de Bacteriología y Parasitología

Abstracto

Bacteriological Assessment of Sliced Fruits Vended In Sabon Gari, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Nura S*, Agbo QO, Abubakar AM, Mijinyawa A

A study was conducted to assess the bacteriological quality of sliced fruits vended in three markets within Sabon Gari local government area. Zaria, Kaduna state. A total of forty five fresh sliced vended fruits were randomly procured comprising of pawpaw, pineapple and water melon. Samples were taken from the fruits, inoculated on nutrients agar, mannitol salt agar and macConkey agar and incubated for 24 hours. Serial dilution technique was used for isolation and enumeration of the bacterial species present in the fruits. Data obtained analyzed using analysis of variance with Duncan’s new multiple range test used to separate significant means at 5% level. Five bacterial species: Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis., Citrobacter freundi, Staphylococcus aureus and Providencia sp were found to be associated with the fruits with E. coli having the highest prevalence. The result obtained revealed significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in bacterial loads among the sliced fruits. Highest bacterial load is found in pawpaw. Therefore, hygienic practices should be ensured for the safety of consumers as well as to prevent food borne illnesses.