Assessment of the Microbial Profile of Selected Commercially Prepared Food Spices in Nigeria.

Abstract:

The microbial profiles and antibiogram patterns of some commercially prepared food spices in Nigeria were evaluated in this study. Ten selected food spices; cinnamon, coriander, black pepper, chili pepper, suya spice, salad cream, paprika, parsley, mint and basil were purchased from the popular Oja-Oba market in Akure, Nigeria. Standard microbiological assays were used to identify and quantify microorganisms in the spices. The antibiotic sensitivity of bacterial and fungal isolates was tested using the disk diffusion method. Twelve bacterial species (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Citrobacter freundii) were isolated from the food spices. Bacillus cereus and Enterobacter aerogenes were the most prevalent, while Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Clostridium perfringens were the less frequently encountered bacterial species. Four Fungal species: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Fusarium oxysporium were also isolated from the food spices, with Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae the most frequently encountered and Aspergillus fumigatus the less regularly encountered fungal species. The bacterial load of the food spices ranged from 8.0 x 103 to 9.0 x 105 CFU/ml, while the mean fungal count ranged from 2.0 x 103 to 1.2 x 105 SFU/ml. Antibiogram analysis revealed that Pefloxacin has the highest efficacy and Zinnacef the least in all isolated bacterial species. At the same time, Ketoconazole exhibited the highest effectiveness in all isolated fungal species, and Nystatin showed the least effectiveness. The high population of pathogenic microorganisms coupled with the presence of Salmonella typhimurium and other enteric microorganisms in the food spices can cause severe foodborne illness to the consumers of such food spices and may lead to foodborne illness outbreaks.