Microbiological and nutritional analysis of Usha an Ethiopian traditional fermented beverage in Yem zone Central Ethiopia

Abstract

Usha is a lightly white, thick law alcohol content it produced by using ingredients including barley (Hordeum vulgare), teff (Eragrostis teff), maize, sorghum, barley& malt it is widely consumed by native people of the Yem Zone in central Ethiopia. However, due to the fact that scientific research on Usha can't be found, this study aimed to investigate its microbiological, physicochemical, and nutritional characteristics. Cross-sectional survey: ―to document usha assess socio demographic factors related to traditional preparation techniques and laboratory-based experimental study design was employed to. (Microbial safety, microbial succession) during controlled fermentation of Usha, nutritional dynamics for the isolation, characterization of the microorganisms, and physicochemical and nutritional parameters were evaluated under laboratory conditions following standard microbiological techniques. A total of 30 Usha samples three samples from each (10 kebele) were collected from vending site, market, and households in Fofa District Yem Zone. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. The results indicated that approximately 96.36% of usha producers were young women, with 79.09% engaged in farming. Microbial analysis showed that yeasts dominated usha with a mean count of 6.74 ± 0.1log CFU/ml, followed by lactic acid bacteria (6.54±0.1 log CFU/ml). A total of 250 bacteria and 150 yeast isolates were characterized and grouped into genera. Notably, Salmonella was not detected. Aerobic mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and Staphylococci dominated the early stages of fermentation, with the mean counts of 6.09 ±0.01, 3.88±0.01, and 4.2±0.01logCFU/ml respectively. By the end of fermentation, lactic acid bacteria and yeasts exhibited the highest mean counts (7.6±0.04 and 7.5±0.09 log CFU/ml, respectively, through no significant differences (p > 0.05) were observer. During fermentation, the pH dropped from 4.09 ±0.01 to 3.41±0.06. The mean values for physicochemical and nutritional parameters were as follow: pH (3.90 ± 0.5), titratable acidity (0.5 ± 0.11), alcohol content (3.54 ± 0.01), moisture content (78.03 ± 0.9), ash (2.74 ± 0.3), fat (1.54 ± 0.2), protein (15.99 ± 1.5), and carbohydrates (3.5 ± 0.3). Finally, this study revealed the detection of food borne pathogens suggests the potentials post production contaminants, as the physicochemical properties of the ready to consume usha are generally stringent for most microbes.