Microbiological Quality and Safety of Raw Meat and Selected Dairy Products Retailed in Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Foods of animal origin have been benefiting consumers by giving nutrition and good health. They also serve vendors as a source of income and play an important role in supporting the national economy. However, foods of animal origin are perceived to be a major public health problem due to contamination as they are ideal media for diverse microbes. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the microbiological quality and safety of raw meat and selected dairy products in Jimma town. A cross-sectional study design was used to collect food samples. The study involved both questionnaire and laboratory experiments. Systematic random sampling technique was used for the collection of samples. A total of 120 food samples (30 from each of raw meat, raw milk, cottage cheese, and cream cake) were collected from Agip, Kochi, and Merkato sites of Jimma town from August 2020 to March 2021. The study involved standard methods for the enumeration of microbes, isolation of pathogens, and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the isolated pathogens. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23. Results of the study showed that females dominated the vending of food items. However, all of the butchers were males. Age-wise, majority (each 70%) of butcher and cream cake vendors belonged at the age group between 21-30 years. All of the raw meat and cottage cheese vendors were serving the food products with their bare hands. Moreover, the majority of the vending sites were nearer to a latrine house. The highest mean microbial counts (Colony forming unit per gram or Colony forming unit per milliliter) of Aerobic mesophilic bacteria (7.37±0.68), Aerobic spore-forming bacteria (5.91±0.56), Staphylococci (5.59±0.74), Enterobacteriaceae (4.14±0.74) and coliforms (3.95±0.66) were observed in raw meat. Moreover, Lactic acid bacteria (5.70±0.28), yeast (5.66±0.17) and mould (3.71±0.49) were recorded from raw milk. There was statistically significant difference (p<0.005) with regards to microbial counts in all food samples. Overall, in all food samples Staphylococcus spp (34.74%) was dominant followed by Bacillus spp (25.93%) and Enterobacteriaceae (13.51%). Among the pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus in raw meat (43.33%), Bacillus spp (20%) in milk, Escherichia coli spp (16.67%) in meat and Listeria spp (16.67%) in milk samples were the dominant. However, Shigella spp in all food (except in milk) and Proteus spp in cream cake were not detected. Moreover, Salmonella spp and Pseudomonas spp from raw milk were highly resistance to nalidixic acid. However, Bacillus spp from raw milk and Proteus spp from raw meat were highly susceptible to streptomycin. Overall, the Multi-drug resistance of isolated pathogens was dominated by three (33.33%) and four (24.7%) antibiotics resistance patterns. Food contamination problems in the present study could be due to poor personal hygiene, cross-contamination from farm to table, litter and dust at the vending sites. Generally, the raw meat and dairy products in Jimma town were poor in terms of both microbial quality and safety. Thus, any concerned body should make persistent inspection and training to overcome the problem. Moreover, the antibiotic resistance patterns of the isolated pathogens alarm the need for regular surveillance and monitoring of the food of animal origins and processing in order to design appropriate strategy of minimizing the possible risks caused by such pathogens.