Open AccessDetection of Bacterial Pathogens in Ready-To-Eat Foods: Potential Public Health Hazard
Author(s) -
Samuel Ekene Odo,
Chidinma John,
Israel C. Omekara,
Daniel A. Nwaubani
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of pathogen research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2582-3876
DOI - 10.9734/ijpr/2021/v8i230199
Subject(s) - salmonella , health hazard , staphylococcus aureus , public health , food safety , environmental health , food contaminant , contamination , food science , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , bacteria , ecology , genetics , nursing
The right to obtain safe food is one of the most vital and fundamental human rights that must not be compromised or neglected; this is important because foodborne diseases can lead to prolonged disability and even death. Our study examined 28 samples of ready-to-eat foods, of which 27 samples (96.4%), contained bacterial contaminants. The bacterial pathogens isolated include Escherichia coli (50%), Salmonella spp (75%) and Staphylococcus aureus (85.7%). All the samples of jollof rice (100%), bean porride (100%) and eba (100%) were contaminated while 85.7% of egusi soup samples contained bacterial contaminants. The presence of these bacterial pathogens in the ready-to-eat foods poses huge risk to public health. It calls for immediate and sustainable action to prevent the possibility of foodborne disease out-break and intoxication capable of harming public health and socio-economic development.