Abstract

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Microbial evaluation of roasted chicken sold in Keffi metropolis was investigated. Samples of the roasted chickens were collected in triplicates from seven different sales locations for an assessment of their microbiological qualities. Spread plate technique was employed for the isolation of the microorganisms following serial dilution of the samples. The hands of the vendors preparing and selling the roasted chickens were also swabbed for isolation of microorganisms. The microbial load on the roasted chicken examined ranged from 1.3 x 105 to 3.7 x 105 cfu/g, whereas the microbial load on the sellers' hands were in the range of 3.4 x 105 to 7.4 x 105 cfu/ml. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp, Klebsiella spp, Salmonella spp, Shigella spp and Aspergillus fumigatus were the microbial species isolated from both the roasted chickens and the sellers' hands, respectively. The counts of A. fumigatus were lowest while those of Staphylococcus spp were highest in both the roasted chicken and the sellers' hands respectively. However, with respect to occurrence in the different locations studied, Staphylococcus spp had the highest percentage occurrence of 85%, followed by A. fumigatus which had 71%, while E. coli and Salmonella spp had the least (43%) respectively. The results generally revealed that sellers' hands had higher microbial counts than the roasted chickens. The findings of this investigation are of immense public health significance especially to the consumers of roasted chickens in the Keffi metropolis. The presence of pathogens and E. coli, an indicator of feacal contamination, can render food unsafe for human consumption. Thus, the roasted chickens sold in Keffi potent a health risk to its consumers.

Keywords: Microbial load, roasted chickens, sellers' hands, Keffi