No abstract

Bread is an important food type created by cooking a batter of flour and water, possibly with other condiments. Potassium bromate is a flour improver that acts as an enhancer. It mostly operates in the late batter stage, energizing the mixture during late sealing and early baking. In Nigeria, the use of bromate in bread production was prohibited in 1993. Regardless, some bread manufacturers have continued to include potassium bromate in their products. Because of its widespread use, this analysis attempts to assess the concentration of Bromate in local and packaged breads sold in the Ilorin Metropolitan Area. It is cross-sectional descriptive research with laboratory analysis. A total of fifteen brands of breads were used in this study labeled as (A,B,C,D,G,J,O,K) as packaged bread and (E,I,L,M,N,E,H) as local bread. They were purchased randomly from bakeries, bus stops and markets in Ilorin, Kwara State Capital, and Nigeria. The bread was subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis of Potassium bromate in bread. The qualitative result revealed black spot on the samples indicating the presence of potassium bromate. Three of the bread samples (J, L and O) did not show any visible black spot while other bread samples have black spot. The quantitative amount of potassium bromates found in each bread sample showed that the quantity of potassium bromates found in the different bread sample is above Food and Drug Agency (FDA) recommended standards, which is 0.02μg/g (0.02mg/ kg), with sample (M) having the highest concentration (0.62515) of potassium bromate, while sample (E) having the lowest concentration (0.42713) of potassium bromate. The outcome gotten from the research investigation actually inferred that consumer of bread sold in Ilorin are unaware of this harmful substance, notwithstanding a few existing enactments banning its utilization. The net cancer-causing impact of potassium bromate is accumulative, in this way consistency in consumption of bread with potassium bromate could prompt malignant growth over time. The principal issue in Nigeria is execution of the ban and immediate impacts are needed to abridge the utilization of this food poison.

Food safety issues in developing countries are mostly centered on illnesses that are linked to poor hygiene but food hygiene in hotels remains an area of concern. Hospitality Industries are known to provide food, drink or accommodation to people who are away from home. Food poisoning can arise from public eating places like hotels and restaurants as a result unhygienic food preparation. The purpose of the study was to assess the HACCP compliance of standard hotels in Ilorin metropolis, Kwara state. Purposive sampling was used with laboratory component carried out in five standard hotels in Ilorin metropolis and the hotels with alphabets. Data were obtained through on-site observation using checklist and face to face interview.15 food samples (fried rice, white rice), 12 hand swab samples and 7 seven water samples were collected to determine the hygienic level of the food. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the results were presented using charts and tables. Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, S. aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans were isolated in various foods, water and hand swab. The total viable count was below 10 5 CFU/g in all the seventeen (17) samples with 1.71 -86.82 x 10 2 CFU in food, 1.65 -12.2 x 10 2 CFU in hand swab and 10.63 23x10 2 CFU in water samples. From the findings, the food samples found to be within the marginal aerobic colony count limits according to the International Commission for Microbiological Specification for Foods (ICSMF, 1978). This implies that, though the food samples were within limits of acceptable microbiological quality, there might have been possible hygiene problems either in the preparation of the food or in handling of the food. From the checklist, it was revealed that majority (95%) of the hotels (B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I) did not meet the HACCP requirement. The study revealed that the concept of HACCP was not understood and that this could be impacting on the general food hygiene standards and food-handling practices of personnel. Therefore, there is need to implement HACCP system to prevent food poisoning outbreaks and the hotels can easily adapt the strategy only if law enforcers could put strict monitoring in place.

In Nigeria, with a populace of more than 170 million individuals it was accounted for that just 90,000 cases of food borne ailments happen every year. There was also a report of 60 cases and 3 deaths due to food borne disease with symptomatic gastro intestinal disorders among people who ate in a funeral service. In Nigeria, food safety is not given high preference. Since the hospitality industries manages giving food, drink or convenience to individuals who are away from home, food contamination may emerge at whatever point there is unhygienic food preparation. The study seeks to assess the bacteriological assessment of food and water prepared in standard hotels in Abuja. The study made use of a descriptive cross-sectional study with stratified purposive sampling technique, hotels with 3, 4 and 5 star ratings in Abuja were selected for this study, 45 foods and water samples were aseptically collected for this study. The instrument for data collection was sterile container for sample collection. Data were analysed using, SPSS version 23.0 to present inferential statistics (ANOVA) and descriptive statistics (charts and tables). Staphylococcus aureus (69.75%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20%), E. coli (33.75%) and Bacillus spp (18.2%) were isolated in the food samples while E. coli (48%), S. aureus (77.5%), P. aeroginosa (27%), P. vulgaris (12%) Shigella dysentriae (6%) were isolated in water samples. The percentage occurrence of bacteria isolated in the samples were in compliance with the WHO limit for microorganisms in food and water (105 ) cfu/m. This could be as a result of the poor food handling practices carried out in the hotels. However, According to WHO, there should be zero tolerance of E. coli and Samonella typhii, in food and water because at low levels they can still pose risk to health. The results from this study will enable health inspectors and food handlers in hotels to implement stringent food safety methods like HACCP in hotels of their standard to bring about satisfaction and safety of food in their hotels.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are two million reported cases of food poisoning in Nigeria with estimated deaths of 200000 people from food poisoning and 20000 deaths from exposure to food pesticides annually: children inclusive. These hotels make provision of letting rooms food and refreshment services in restaurant bars and banqueting rooms, conference/mailing rooms, and leisure facilities it was expressed that, threats identified with the production of food items can be minimized to a permissible limit or eliminated through the utilization of HACCP procedure. This study assessed the knowledge of HACCP of food handlers in standard hotels in Lagos State. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design and was conducted in Lagos. All the hotels classified by the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation as either three, four, or five-star-rated were targeted. A purposive and stratified sampling technique was used to select the study units who constituted the respondents for the study with a total of 31 hotels involved in the study. A questionnaire was used to get information on knowledge on HACCP and its implementation by 31 food handlers. Data were presented in tables. Findings from this study have revealed that under 20% of the respondents in the various hotels use HACCP as a quality control strategy, less than 50% understand the concept of HACCP. Results also revealed that there is an insignificant relationship between years of service in the food establishment and the knowledge on HACCP at P value (0.05). More results revealed that there is no significant relationship between formal training and knowledge on food safety. Results also revealed that there is no significant relationship between knowledge of HACCP by food handlers and their implementation in food preparation with a P-value at (0.05). This insignificant relationship between formal training and knowledge on food safety could mean that there may be other factors preventing food handlers from implementing food safety practices, this may include time, cost of carrying out the practices, or even personal attitude of the food handlers during food handling. Food handlers should be taught food safety practices practically rather than theoretically.