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Microbiological quality of ready–to–eat dog meat sold in some parts of Plateau state, Nigeria


Michael Macvren Dashen
Nanya Amos Cirfat
Nanret Mark Jackden
Lilian Umbulle Mashor
Peter Gimba Shiaka

Abstract

The Microbiological quality of ready-to-eat dog meat obtained from eight different locations in Jos-North, Jos-South and Pankshin Local Government areas (LGA) of Plateau state was determined in order to ascertain their safety. A total of One hundred ready-to-eat dog meat samples were analyzed. Samples from Pankshin LGA are the most contaminated with a total mean bacterial load of 4.97 x 109 CFU/g, followed by samples from Jos-South LGA (4.07 x 108 CFU/g) and the least being samples from Jos-North LGA (3.88 x 107 CFU/g). Samples from Jos-South LGA have the highest enterobacteriaceae count of 4.25 x 108 CFU/g with the least being samples from Jos-North LGA (2.91 x 107 CFU/g). Staphylococcus aureus is the most predominant isolate with a frequency of occurrence of 76% followed by Escherichia coli (36%). Other bacterial isolates include Salmonella spp (15%), Citrobacter freundii (25%), Proteus vulgaris (10%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (25%), Pseudomonas aeroginosa (8%). Fungal isolates include Aspergillus niger (25%), Trichophyton spp (25%), Penicillium spp (25%), Mucor spp (24%) and Aspergillus fumigates (20%). The high bacterial count and diversity of bacterial and fungal isolates from the dog meat analysed is an indication of its low bacteriological quality and this can make it a potential source of food infection.


Keywords: Microbiological Quality, Ready-To-Eat, Dog Meat, Sold


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eISSN: 1597-6343
print ISSN: 2756-391X