ANTIBIOTICS SENSITIVITY AND MICROBIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF SPOILAGE ORGANISMS OF FRUIT (ORANGES AND APPLES)

ABSTRACT

Food spoilage is a metabolic process that causes food to be undesirable or unacceptable for human consumption due to changes in sensory characteristics. Fruits can become spoilt when exposed to spoilage organisms. This study was carried out in order to enumerate, isolate and identify spoilage organisms of apples and oranges from different markets and supermarkets in Benin City, Edo State. Eighteen (18) (nine (9) apples, nine (9) oranges) samples were collected. Isolation and identification was carried out using standard morphological and biochemical test, Disc diffusion method was used to carry out antibiotics susceptibility test .The results obtained showed the mean bacterial count ranged from 0.35 ±2.18 X 105 from apple in supermarket to 7.73±2.12 X 105 from apple in Uselu market and 0.68 ±0.99 X 105 from orange in Uselu market to 8.89 ± 0.88 X 105 from orange in New benin market while the mean fungal count ranged from 0.23 ± 0.35 X 105 from apple in New benin market to 2.5 ± 3.28 X 105 from apple in supermarket and 0.70 ± 1.30 X 105 from orange in Uselu market to 6.05 ± 0.78 X 105 from orange in Oba market.