Microbiological Analysis of Ready-To-Eat-Foods Obtained from Bukaterian within the Ekiti State University and Environment, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

Food-borne diseases are the global public health problem. At random 75 food samples comprising of fifteen each of the five commonly eaten ready-to-eat foods (rice, beans, yam, fufu and meat) were collected from different vendors of the university. Aerobic bacterial count and fungal count were determined by counting the colonies on nutrient agar plates and saboraud dextrose agar plates respectively. The identification of the organisms was determined by their morphology, culture characteristics and biochemical profile. The result obtained revealed that Mean aerobic plate counts ranged from 1.0 x 102 cfu/g (rice) to 6.0 x 104 cfu/g (meat) and mean fungal count ranged from 1.3 x 102 cfu/g (rice) to 5.2 x 104 cfu/g (meat). A total of eleven species (spp) of microorganisms including Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., Clostridium perfringens, Shigella spp., Klebsiella spp., Proteus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter spp., Aspergillus spp. and Mucor spp. were isolated from the food samples. Bacillus cereus had the highest percentage frequency with (18.12%) while Campylobacter spp. had the lowest percentage frequency with (1.45%). Fufu had the highest percentage of contamination of 35.51% with lowest in yam and meat which both had 5.8%. Based on the specifications by International Commission for Microbiological Specification for Foods (ICMSF), the level of contaminations was within acceptable microbiological limits except for Meat and Fufu; this could be attributed to inadequate processing, poor handling practices and post-cross contamination which can pose danger to the health of the consumers. It is recommended that regular microbiological quality control programs and good hygiene practices should be encourage.