ISOLATION OF BACTERIA FROM MOI MOI

ABSTRACT

 Food is any substance needed by the body for effective functioning of the various system and development.  Moi moi (steamed bean pastry) is a popular Nigerian dish made from peeled beans, pepper, seasoning, oil and other ingredients. This study is aimed at analyzing the microbiological quality of moi moi (steamed bean pastry) sold in fast foods within University of Benin, Benin city, Edo State. Samples of moi moi were collected from 5 different fast foods within University of Benin campus and were transported immediately to Microbiological Laboratory, where routine standard microbiological methods were carried out. The result of the analysis revealed that the mean total bacterial count from the five samples ranged from mean log₁₀CFU/g from 10.80 ± 5.70 - 11.07 ± 9.60. A total of 10 bacteria genera were isolated from moi moi samples. The genera of bacteria identified in this study were: Staphyloccocus spp. Pseudomonas spp., Enterobacter spp., Micrococcus spp. and Salmonella spp. The most prevalent isolates in this study was Micrococcus spp (30 %). Biological contaminants of bacterial origin presents as major cause of food–borne disease given rise to acute to chronic illnesses such as Salmonellagastroenteritis. The isolate Bacillusspp have been incriminated to contribute towards these life threatening illnesses. The findings of this study illustrate bacteria contamination is present in moi moi sold in University of Benin campus. Therefore, it is very important and necessary for fast foods owners to always clean and sanitize food contact surfaces, cook and store food properly, so as to reduce the level of food contamination and also to reduce bacterial load to the lowest level, thereby preventing cases of food borne infections.