Journal of Food: Microbiology, Safety & Hygiene
Open Access

Prevalence of pathogenic bacteria in traditional foods of Pakistan: A scenario of underdeveloped countries

Joint Event on International Conference on Food Safety and Health and 11^th World Congress on Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology

August 30-31, 2018 Dubai, UAE

Tahir Zahoor, Nehdia Azhar, Abdullah Salik and Atif Liaqat

University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Food Microbiol Saf Hyg

Abstract :

Traditional foods are composite foods which has nourished our ancestors throughout history. Traditional foods have enhanced the risk of foodborne illnesses in growing population of Pakistan due to emergence of resistant enteric bacterial pathogens. Aim of this study was the microbial evaluation and safety assessment of most commonly consumed traditional foods sold in various markets of Faisalabad. To aid regulatory agencies about the safety status of traditional foods most consumed by people. Samples were collected from different street vendors of Faisalabad. Enumeration of pathogens was done through spread plate method followed by biochemical confirmatory testing. This study found that mean prevalence of Listeria, E. coli, Salmonella and Total Plate Count (TPC) was 25%, 25%, 16.70% and 75% respectively in samples. Highest count of Listeria, E. coli, Salmonella and TPC in samples was 9.2Ã?103, 4.2Ã?103, 1.5Ã?103 and 7.0Ã?107 CFU/g, respectively. The findings depicted satisfactory safety status of 67%, 92%, 75% and 67% samples for E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria and TPC, respectively. These results emphasize on food hygiene training, enhancement of quality control and safety programs to reduce risk of consumerâ??s exposure to foodborne infections. This research served as a beneficial tool for awareness of consumer and a significant breakthrough in relieving the plight of food safety in our country.

Biography :

E-mail: zahoor_t@yahoo.com