Ariyo Adenike Bosede1* and Obire Omokaro2
1Department of Microbiology, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria 2Department of Microbiology, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
*Corresponding Author: Ariyo Adenike Bosede, Department of Microbiology, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
Received: June 03, 2022; Published: June 29, 2022
Pathogenic microorganisms associated with food are one of the major causes of food-borne infections. The microbiological quality of cowhide meat from different abattoirs in Rivers and Bayelsa States were investigated using standard microbiological methods. The mean range of the total heterotrophic bacteria, coliform, Vibrio, heterotrophic fungal, total hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial and total hydrocarbon utilizing fungal counts of the cowhide from the different abattoirs were: 1.8×106 to 4.8×106 cfu/g, 1.7×105 to 3.6×105 cfu/g, 0 to 4.0×103 cfu/g, 1.0×104 to 4.0×104 cfu/g, 1.0×104 to 3.3×104 cfu/g, and 1.6 ×103 to 4.3×103 cfu/g respectively. Nine (9) bacteria identified and their frequencies are: Bacillus sp (20.39%), Staphylococcus sp (17.91%), Escherichia coli (13.03%), Pseudomonas sp. (11.44%), Streptococcus sp. (10.44%), Micrococcus sp. (9.45%), Aeromonas sp. (8.45%), Klebsiella sp (5.47%), and Vibrio sp (2.9%). Percentages of occurrence of hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria and fungi were also reported. Kruskal Walis H test showed that there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the total heterotrophic bacteria and total hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial counts obtained in all the locations. However, there was significant difference in the heterotrophic fungal counts across the locations while analysis showed no significant difference in the hydrocarbon utilizing fungal counts across the abattoirs (p < 0.01). The high microbial counts in the cowhide meat sampled and the isolation of potential pathogens as well as mycotoxin producing fungi are indicative of possible contamination during processing. Thus, the public should be aware of the dangers associated with consumption of cowhide meat and the need for proper post purchase preparation before consumption.
Keywords: Cowhide Meat; Abattoir; Coliform; Mycotoxin; Fungi; Hydrocarbon Utilizing Potentials
Citation: Ariyo Adenike Bosede and Obire Omokaro. “Microbiological Quality of Roasted Cowhide Meat (‘Ponmo’) Processed and Sold in Some Abattoirs in Bayelsa and Rivers States". Acta Scientific Microbiology 5.7 (2022): 64-70.
Copyright: © 2022 Ariyo Adenike Bosede and Obire Omokaro. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.