Microbiological quality of some street foods in N'Djamena, Chad: case of sandwiches

Consumption of street food is growing rapidly in developing countries. Consequently, health problems associated with consumption of street foods exist everywhere and Chad is not an exception, but up to this day, there is limited scientific data on the microbiological quality and safety of foods sold in the street in various regions of the country. The aim of this study is to determine the microbiological quality of some street foods in N'Djamena, Chad: case of sandwiches. A total of 42 samples of sandwiches were collected. These samples were analyzed according to the standard methods of food microbiology. The analysis identified the different germs with respective compliance rates of 14.29% for thermotolerant coliforms, 54.76% for Coagulase-positive staphylococci, 47.62% for Escherichia coli and 19.05% for total mesophilic aerobic flora. The Salmonella compliance rate is 100%. Also yeasts and molds were counted in some samples with an average of 0.80x10 6 CFU/g. There is a significant correlation between MAF and Coagulase-positive staphylococci (p<0.05). The presence of these germs in general and mainly pathogens in sandwiches consumed in N’Djamena, Chad, represent a real public health problem which competent authorities should not neglect. Keywords : sandwiches, quality, microorganisms, N'Djamena, Chad.