Microbiological Quality Assessment of Popular Fresh Date Samples Available in Local Outlets of Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Abstract

It is evident that date fruits provide a wide variety of essential nutrients which impart potential human health benefits. In Bangladesh, the popularity of date and its consumption surge few-fold during Ramadan among Muslims owing to the profound emotion related to religious belief that breaking of dawn-to-dusk fasting with dates is fulfilling a Sunnah. The present study aimed to explore the microbiological quality of the five most popular fresh date samples (Nagal, Dhapas, Boroi, Morium, and Tunisia) purchased from different locations of Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Among 25 samples tested, 23 were observed to carry 3.30-5.65 Log CFU/gm aerobic bacteria and 3.30-5.36 Log CFU/gm yeasts and molds population. Coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli were not found in any of the samples analyzed in this study. However, except Nagal and Boroi from Mohammadpur and Mirpur, respectively, none of the samples were found safe to consume according to the microbiological grade recommended by Woolworths Quality Assurance Standard (WQAS), 2009, as fresh dates with microbial load can cause food poisoning or even foodborne intoxication. Date samples with less or no processing is responsible for this contamination which can be subsided and eliminated by appropriate handling and hygiene practices during postharvest processing.

Microbial contamination and some chemical and physical properties of date fruits stored at room and refrigerator temperatures

“…Aleid et al (2014) and Hamad (2012) reported date fruit contamination with yeasts and molds in the ranges 10 2 -10 3 cfu/g. Zamir et al (2018) reported loads up to 5.65 Log cfu/g aerobic bacteria and up to 5.36 Log cfu/g yeasts and molds and no coliforms nor E. coli in date fruit samples collected from local outlets in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Samples of date fruits collected from different locations in Morocco were found contaminated with bacteria and yeasts and molds at loads of up to 4.2 log cfu/g and up to 2.99 cfu/g, respectively, and no contamination with coliforms, Bacillus sp.…”

An Overview of Date (Phoenix dactylifera) Fruits as an Important Global Food Resource

“…Date fruits have also been reported to contain 0.11 to 7.33% of fat [57]. In contrast, the fat content of Khodari and Suqaey was the lowest of all the date samples included in Assirey's study [58] and ranged from 0.18 to 0.52 g/100 g. Also, the ash content ranged from 1.43 to 6.20% [57], but in another study, the ash contents of Anbarah and Suqaey were 2.33 and 2.29 g/100 g dry weight, respectively [63]. Date fruits provide the human body with a high amount of carbs, around 65.8 to 88.02% [57].…”

“…Also, after the treatment, the residual levels remain within the MRL (maximum residual levels) [54,55]. Insects in dates can be killed by using the heating method; however, the process results in discoloration and separation of the fruit's skin from the flesh [55][56][57][58]. The most effective method to maintain the quality of dates while having little impact on the emergence of physiological disease signs is Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) [45,59,60], which is described as "packaging a perishable product in an atmosphere that has been modified so that its composition is different from that of air" [59].…”

“…Anabarah has the highest carbohydrate content (77.3 mg/100 g), followed by Suqaey (75.3 mg/100 g) and Ajwa (72.1 mg/100 g) [63]. The dates fruit is also rich in varieties of B-complex vitamins as described the chemical structured of B6 on Figure 1a and amino acids as show in Figure 1b [58]. Dietary fiber has significant therapeutic effects, and its concentration varies depending on the type of food and its developmental stage [63].…”

Microbiological Quality Assessment of Date Palm Fruits And Development of a Decontamination Method

“…Several research groups have evaluated the microbiological and biochemical attributes of the date palm fruits growing in their home country (Ali 2009, Hasnaoui et al 2010, Aleid et al 2014. However, research on the microbiological quality of date palm fruits imported into Bangladesh is limited (Zamir et al 2018). Furthermore, molecular identity of the bacteria associated with the imported date palm fruits and their control measures were not considered in that study.…”