Tiger nut milk is a locally prepared indigenous non-alcoholic beverage that is widely produced and consumed in Nigeria most especially in the Northern part of Nigeria where it is referred to as kunu-aya. Twenty five (25) kunun-aya samples were obtained as freshly formulated beverages from five (5) different locations within Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. The samples were separately subjected to nutritional assessment (proximate analysis, minerals analysis and determination of vitamins content) and bacteriological assessment. The bacteria loads were determined in terms of total bacteria counts using standard methods involving pour plates. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the bacteria isolates was determined using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The bacteria counts of the samples from all the locations revealed the total viable counts which ranged from 1.2-12.0 × 10 4 cfu\ml, total coliform (0.8-6.6×10 4 cfu\ml), total feacal count (1.0-11.0 x 10 4 cfu/ml) and total staphylococcus count [1.2-7.0x10 4 cfu/ml) Five species of bacteria were isolated and identified by standard microbiological methods and these were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Klebsiella spp and Proteus spp. Result of the proximate composition showed that moisture content ranged from 79.50-81.30%, crude protein(6.84-7.1%), ash (1.87-2.01%),crude fat(4.66-5.62%), Crude fiber(0.70-1.24%) Carbohydrate (2.0-4.50%). Energy values ranged from 77-97(cal). The mineral [mg/l] analysis was done using atomic absorption spectrophotometric method and the result revealed Ca (5.13-8.7), K (0.42-0.53), Na (0.23-0.64), Mg [1.14-2.6], Fe (0.61-0.86). These results provided information about the nutritional value and confirm that tiger milk is an interesting healthy beverage but its contamination with potentially pathogenic bacteria poses a great threat to the consumer.

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Aim: This study aimed to identify fungi isolated from Tympanotonus fuscatus var. radula and evaluate its level of susceptibility to known antifungal compounds. Place and Duration of Study: Biotechnology Advanced Research Centre, Sheda Science and Technology Complex, Abuja between September and December 2019. Methods: Tympanotonus fuscatus var. radula samples were purchased from the Keffi, Masaka, and Orange markets in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Fungal isolation was achieved using Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol and incubated at 28ᵒC for 5 days. ITS-1 and ITS-4 primers were used at 94°C for 2 min, 52°C for 1 min, and 72°C for 2 min for the polymerase chain reaction before sequencing at Inqaba Biotech South Africa. Disk diffusion technique was employed for antifungal susceptibility testing. Results: Data obtained revealed that the suspected fungal species exhibited a generally higher level of resistance (19-40 mm) to 1 µg voriconazole in addition to a 20-35.5 mm zone of inhibition against 10 µg ketoconazole. Blast sequence analysis of the isolated samples revealed a 99.65% sequence homology to Meyerozyma guilliermondii, 99.38% to Fusarium oxysporium isolate E-225 1 and 96.23% to Aspergillus terreus isolate A2S4.   Conclusion: Food safety involves isolating and accurately identifying disease causing pathogens such as fungi in food. Based on the fungal load obtained from this study, proper cooking and handling of sea-food which would otherwise cause disease, is highly recommended.