Microbiological Quality Assessment of Ready-To-Eat Kilishi Sold in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

A total of twelve samples of ready-to-eat dried meat product, kilishi, were purchased from different sale-points in Abuja, Nigeria and a study conducted on them to assess their microbiological quality. Microbial counts obtained ranged from 2.8 x 10⁴ to 4.0 x 10⁶ for total aerobic, 1.0 x 10⁴ to 6.1 x 10⁵ for coliforms, 1.6 x 10⁴ to 3.5 x 10⁴ for staphylococci and 2.7 x 10³ to 5.5 x 10⁴ for fungi. Bacteria isolated from the kilishi were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Proteus spp. and Streptococcus spp. while the fungi were Aspergillus niger, Rhodotorula spp, Cladosporium spp. and Saccharomyces spp. Of the bacterial isolates, Bacillus spp. constituted the highest while Streptococcus spp. showed the least occurrence. Saccharomyces spp showed the highest frequency of occurrence for the fungi while Cladosporium spp. exhibited the least. The high microbial count and the diversity of microorganisms obtained in the present study indicated that most of the samples examined did not meet microbiological quality standards which may make the product potential source of food infection. Emphasis on maintaining standard hygiene practices during the production processes is needed to reduce potential hazards.