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Food spices are essential for boosting the flavour and aroma of a variety of recipes. Nevertheless, there is a chance of microbial contamination, which can seriously endanger consumers' health. This study aimed to assess the microbiological quality of commonly used food spices. A total of five different spice samples, including ground black pepper, turmeric, mixed pepper soup spice, alligator pepper and suya spice, were obtained from supermarkets in Ugbowo, Benin City. Serial dilution of the samples was carried out and the pour plate method was used for the culture and isolation of Bacteria and Fungi, using Nutrient Agar (NA), Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) Agar and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA). Although no growth was recorded on EMB plates, the total heterotrophic bacterial count of samples ranged from 1.43cfu/g to 9.00cfu/g. Microorganisms isolated were identified based on cultural and morphological characteristics as well as biochemical tests. In this study, the bacteria isolated were species of Bacillus and Serratia while the fungi isolated were species of Mucor and Fusarium. Furthermore, chitosan, a natural antimicrobial agent, was tested for its effectiveness in reducing microbial populations in the contaminated spices. The antibiotics susceptibility test of Gram positive isolates showed that Bacillus cereus had a Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) index value of 1 while Bacillus spp. and Bacillus licheniformis had MAR index of 4 respectively. The antibiotics susceptibility test of Gram negative isolates showed that Serratia spp. had a MAR index value of 2. The results of susceptibility of isolates to chitosan showed that the zone of inhibition exhibited by bacterial isolates when tested with 100mg/ml of chitosan ranged from 14-42mm while the zone of inhibition exhibited by bacterial isolates when tested with 50mg/ml of chitosan ranged from 12-34mm and when tested with 25mg/ml of chitosan, the zone of inhibition exhibited by bacterial isolates ranged from 6-22mm. According to the research, chitosan showed encouraging antimicrobial activity against both bacteria and fungus, but antibiotics were only moderately successful in lowering microbial contamination. Chitosan has the potential to be used as a natural food preservative because samples of spice treated with it showed a significant decrease in microbial counts. The present study highlights the significance of microbiological analysis in evaluating the safety of food spices. Additionally, it highlights the possible application of chitosan as a natural preservative to augment the microbiological quality of these products.
