Microbiological Quality of Common Snacks Found in Major Markets in Ondo City, Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Ensuring high microbiological quality is essential for snacks because these foods are often consumed with minimal preparation, which leads to harmful pathogens during production. This study aims at determining the microbiological contamination of common snacks Found in major markets in Ondo City, Ondo State, Nigeria.

Methods: Fifty (50) samples of snacks namely, kulikuli, groundnut, cashew nuts, plantain chips, chinchin, coconut chips, wara and potato chips  vended in five different  markets within Ondo City, Ondo State Nigeria were obtained. The snacks were analyzed for total coliform count, specific pathogens using Pour plate method. Beta poisson model was used to estimate the risk of infection, illness, or death from exposure to pathogenic microorganisms. The data was statistically analysed by the use of IBM SPSS Statistics Data Editor version 25.

Results: The highest bacterial counts were observed in Kulikuli, particularly in samples from Okedibo Market, with values reaching up to 8.4×10⁴  CFU/mL. Okedibo Market consistently shows high CFU counts across most snack types. Cashew Nuts and Coconut Chips had bacterial counts of 5.3×10⁴ CFU/mL and 5.7×10⁴ CFU/mL, respectively. Other markets, like Iyalaje Market and Sabo Market, displayed lower and more consistent counts across most snacks. Saluwa Market had high bacterial counts for selected snacks (e.g., Plantain Chips at 3.1×10⁴ CFU/mL). The probability of infection for each organism per meal per day remains quite low, ranging between 0.015 and 0.021 which is about 1.5% to 2.1%. Observations showed that Escherichia coli had 100% chance of infection which has the highest yearly risk of infection when the snacks are daily consumed. Conclusion: The yearly risk of illness (due to accumulation) was notably high for all the listed pathogens. The results highlight potential gaps in food safety protocols within certain markets which can be controlled by food safety regulations.