Bacterial Load Assessment of some Food Items Sold in Street in Woldia Town, North-East Ethiopia

Abstract

Infectious diseases due to contaminated street vended food items has happened to an essential concern and public health issue in low socio-economic status individuals. The goal of this study was to evaluate bacterial quality and safety of some food items sold in street based on aerobic mesophilic bacteria, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in Woldia town. Cross-sectional study was performed on some selected street vended foods from March 2019 to May 2019 in Woldia town. A total of 36 ready-to-eat food samples such as ‘Sambussa’, ‘Bonbolino’ and ‘Ambasha’ were collected for microbial analysis. Finding of the study indicates that 32(88.9 %) of the vendors were females, 28(77.7%) handled food with bare hands, 28(77.7%) vendors were washing their hands after toilet. The mean total count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was 4.5×102±5.2×101 CFUg-1, 1.5×102±4.5×101 CFUg-1, 1.1×102±1.4×101 CFUg-1 and 2×102±3.4×101 CFUg-1, respectively. The dominant bacterial isolate from the street vended foods was Escherichia coli (53.5%), followed by Salmonella (24.1%) and Staphylococcus aureus (22.4%). The result of this study demonstrates the non hygienic practices of the vendors in street vended foods showed high bacterial load. Therefore, the street vended foods were contaminated with food borne pathogenic bacteria that can create a potential risk to public health in the study area. In general, the bacterial quality of the food quality sold in street in Woldia town was very poor and needs especial attention to avoid bacterial contamination.

Efeito de coberturas comestíveis a base de quitosana e extrato de romã em parâmetros de qualidade de queijo coalho

“…A contagem de mesófilos totais é relevante na obtenção de dados consistentes sobre a qualidade empregada na produção do alimento, sendo sua alta contagem um indicativo de inadequação, seja pela utilização de matéria-prima contaminada ou processamento insatisfatório. É importante salientar que a maioria das bactérias patogênicas de interesse em alimentos está inserida no grupo das bactérias aeróbias mesófilas [46], como é o caso dos estafilococos [47].…”

Factors influencing consumer choices and food safety awareness in street-vended foods: A case study of Meru town, Kenya

“…In addition to the concerns about food safety and hygiene, the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among SFCs has been reported to be high, indicating a possible link between unsafe food handling practices and the transmission of parasitic infections [6]. Inadequate food safety knowledge and practices of street food vendors have been associated with microbial contamination, leading to foodborne diseases and posing significant public health risks Additionally, low hygienic standards in street food vending have been found to potentially contribute to the transmission of foodborne diseases [7]. The study by Alem [7] reported the presence of pathogenic microorganisms, including Salmonella (24.1%) and Staphylococcus aureus (22.4%) as well as Escherichia coli (53.5%), in street vended foods in Ethiopia.…”

“…Inadequate food safety knowledge and practices of street food vendors have been associated with microbial contamination, leading to foodborne diseases and posing significant public health risks Additionally, low hygienic standards in street food vending have been found to potentially contribute to the transmission of foodborne diseases [7]. The study by Alem [7] reported the presence of pathogenic microorganisms, including Salmonella (24.1%) and Staphylococcus aureus (22.4%) as well as Escherichia coli (53.5%), in street vended foods in Ethiopia. These pathogenic microorganisms were also reported in street vended foods in Kenya [8] as well as in the city of Dhaka in Bangladesh [9].…”

Food access vs food safety: The case of street food operation around Mexico Square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…Safety concerns about street foods are reported from all over the developing world (Lamin-Boima, 2017; Mukherjee et al, 2018; Letuka et al, 2019;Hossen et al, 2020;Kaptso et al, 2021). Similarly there are reports on street foods from several urban centers in Ethiopia such as, among others, Gondar town ( Ashenafi, 2000), Dire Dawa (Gizaw Tadesse et al, 2019), Woldia town (KinduAlem, 2020). All the studies used either microbiological or KAP methods to point out the health risk associated with street food consumption.…”