Microbiological safety of cooked vended foods in an urban informal market:

Abstract

The study presents an investigation of the microbiological safety of cooked vended foods in an urban informal market in Harare, Zimbabwe. Analyses were performed on 200 samples of mostly vended ready to eat foodstuffs (comprising chicken and beef stew, egg rolls, doughnuts and boiled mealie cobs) between the month of October and November 2012. Samples were analyzed against different types of indicator micro-organisms namely total aerobics, coliforms and Escherichia coli and pathogens (Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus). Significantly, early morning samples were less contaminated than afternoon samples (p<0.05). No Salmonella spp. was detected in any of the foodstuffs analysed, though S. aureus and E.coli were present (respectively ranges from 3-62x102 cfu/g and 6-49x101 cfu/g). Respectively, nearly 85.5% and 53% of the samples were highly contaminated with S. aureus and E. coli. Correspondingly, total aerobic plate count ranged from 11-172x103cfu/g, while coliform count ranged from 8-85 x102 cfu/g. Subsequently, the study showed that informally vended foods might contain pathogenic microorganisms which signify a risk for human health. The importance of adequate measures to guarantee food safety was underscored.